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Even during a bye week, Drake Maye has to be on his game.
The demands on a player like an All-American quarterback have to be immense, even if he only can meet a fraction of multiple requests.
UNC athletes don’t turn down interviews with the national media, but when time allows they combine some NIL opportunities with good causes.
Maye did that last Thursday by participating in a meet-and-greet at Town Hall Burger, where the ACC’s top quarterback signed almost anything kids and adults placed in front of him and posed for dozens of photos.
Yes, he made some NIL money from Dave Sadeghi, owner of Town Hall Grill, two burger joints, a couple of coffee shops and a few other eateries. But this one was for a bigger cause.
“Just using that time to raise money for us, but spread awareness for autism,” Maye said Tuesday. “It was great at a local spot like Town Hall Burger. Those people are awesome, man. It was a chance to spread autism awareness. Numerous people and kids, even some with autism, were there; we took pictures and signed autographs to reach out and give back to the community.”
Maye sat at a farm table, next to Carolina basketball stars Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis and highly rated freshman Elliot Cadeau, all of whom joined Maye in thrilling the crowd and making a few NIL bucks. Maye called it “an opportunity for football and basketball guys to mingle a little bit. It’s good seeing guys like that and we’re not always going to be in one spot.”
Sadeghi, who has relatives on the autism spectrum, has been on the NIL scene since it became legal to pay athletes for their appearances and voicing commercials promoting causes and brands approved by UNC and Heels4Life, the football collective that CEO Graham Bone says will put on a second concert with country singer and Tar Heel mega-fan Eric Church at Memorial Hall.
Maye says he rarely does such appearances on game week, when practices and meetings can run late into the evening. “But I try to do a lot of that stuff during the bi-week, get it out of the way and then focus on ball.”
On off-Saturdays, they watch games, sometimes to complete scouting assignments given to them by Mack Brown and his staff, such as Clemson’s big win at 4-1 Syracuse, unbeaten and No. 14 UNC’s opponent Saturday afternoon. “Not really with announcers, I don’t love doing that,” Maye said. “They kind of get you out of the locked-in mode when they go off ranting about something. Better to just watch it like you’re scrolling on the iPad, watching film.”
Ah, the sound of silence.
Featured image via Associated Press/Gene J. Puskar
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