Drake Maye's Super Bowl Bound After Early Stardom Prediction

A 2012 tweet about a 9-year-old Maye goes viral as he heads to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season.

Jan. 27, 2026 at 2:07pm

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Former North Carolina Tar Heels star Drake Maye is Super Bowl bound in just his second NFL season. A tweet from 2012 about a nine-year-old Maye being the "best athlete" the tweeter had ever seen has gone viral, as Maye's rapid rise to the Super Bowl at a young age has surprised many. The tweet was written by Justin Farkas, who grew up around the Maye family in the Charlotte area and witnessed Maye dominating youth football games at a young age despite being smaller than his peers.

Why it matters

Maye's early stardom prediction and rapid rise to the Super Bowl highlights the difficulty in identifying future NFL superstars at a young age, as well as the importance of strong family foundations in developing elite athletic talent. The viral tweet also draws comparisons to other famous early talent predictions, like the 2013 post identifying basketball star Paige Bueckers as a future star.

The details

In a 2012 tweet, Justin Farkas called a 9-year-old Drake Maye the "best athlete" he had ever seen, even while Maye was playing up a league. Farkas, who grew up around the Maye family in Charlotte, recalled seeing Maye dominate youth football games despite being much smaller than his peers. At the time, Maye was a running back, not a quarterback, but his instincts and athleticism were already on display. Maye's older brother Luke also became a standout at North Carolina, earning All-American honors, showing the strong athletic foundation of the Maye family.

  • In August 2012, Farkas tweeted about a 9-year-old Maye being the "best athlete" he had ever seen.
  • Maye is now headed to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season in 2026.

The players

Drake Maye

A former North Carolina Tar Heels star who is now headed to the Super Bowl in just his second NFL season.

Justin Farkas

A Twitter user who grew up around the Maye family in the Charlotte area and tweeted in 2012 about a 9-year-old Drake Maye being the "best athlete" he had ever seen.

Luke Maye

Drake Maye's older brother, who became a standout at North Carolina, earning All-American honors and winning a national championship.

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What they’re saying

“Holy crap Drake Maye is the best athlete I've ever seen. Playing up a league and still the best in the league”

— Justin Farkas

“I remember Drake being at least a foot shorter than everyone else out there. He definitely did not have the same growth spurt yet that all of his brothers had had in their early teens. If you just looked at him, size wise, compared to everyone else, you would have expected him to get tossed around, but he was actually the one tossing people around, knocking them over, running circles around them.”

— Justin Farkas

What’s next

Maye and the New England Patriots will face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.

The takeaway

Maye's rapid rise to the Super Bowl, predicted by a 2012 tweet about his dominance as a 9-year-old, highlights the difficulty in identifying future NFL stars at a young age, as well as the importance of strong family foundations in developing elite athletic talent.