Drake Maye, six North Carolina receivers ink NIL deals with Jimmy’s Famous Seafood

Drake Maye has become one of college football’s most marketable names since last season.

But the North Carolina quarterback is not just leveraging his own publicity rights in his latest NIL deal. The former four-star quarterback has agreed to terms on an endorsement deal with the Baltimore-based Jimmy’s Famous Seafood and Jimmy’s Famous Meals. Six of his wide receivers are involved in the partnership: Gavin Blackwell, Andre Greene Jr., JJ Jones, Nate McCollum, Kobe Paysour and Tez Walker.

As part of the agreements, each athlete will promote the meal prep service on their social media channels. In exchanged, they will receive weekly meals from Jimmy’s Famous Meals through December 2023.

“I’m excited for Jimmy’s Seafood to partner with Heels4Life and work with me and my teammates,” Maye said in a statement. “They are stepping up big to support us. Looking forward to the meals coming!” 

The North Carolina-focused NIL collective Heels4Life assisted in facilitating the deal. Founded in February 2022 by former North Carolina linebacker Shakeel Rashad, the collective has a membership program ranging from $100 to $5,000 billed yearly with exclusive benefits offered at each tier. Heels4Life has placed a focus on finding corporate partners, too.

Chapel Hill Media Group, for example, has partnered with the collective to have athletes tape 60-second spots on behalf of business for $1,000. Jimmy’s is the latest business to join the corporate program.

“We couldn’t be more excited to enter this partnership with these outstanding student-athletes,” Jimmy’s president John Minadakis said. “This is an overdue opportunity for them to showcase their talents and personality both on and off the field.”

Drake Maye, North Carolina receivers primed for big season

A favorite to contend for the Heisman Trophy this coming fall, Maye’s name is already popping up on 2024 NFL mock draft boards. The quarterback wrapped up his rookie campaign throwing for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Touting a 66.2% completion percentage, he led the Tar Heels to an ACC title game appearance.

Blackwell pulled in 18 catches for 239 yards and a touchdown in his redshirt season in 2022. A former four-star recruit, Greene took a redshirt and appeared in three games.

Jones proved to be a reliable target for Maye last year, ranking second on the team with 18.08 yards per catch. Paysour pulled in four touchdowns, too.

The North Carolina quarterback also has two weapons joining the offense from the transfer portal. McCollum pulled in 75 receptions for 778 yards and four scores in three seasons at Georgia Tech. Walker, who has two years of eligibility remaining, may be the biggest win for the Tar Heels in the portal. The former Kent State tight end earned first-team All-MAC in 2022, catching 58 passes for 921 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Drake Maye’s growing NIL brand

Maye has a $1.5 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 5 in college football. The valuation is also No. 8 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Drake Maye has seen his social media following grow as his national profile has taken off away from the football field. He currently has more than 64,000 followers. Inserting himself into the Heisman conversation early in 2023 would only help.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.