Drake Maye has turned his second NFL season into something special, accomplishing a feat that very few quarterbacks have managed. The New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl because of him, though there is another quarterback in league history who reached the game at an even younger age.
That quarterback is Dan Marino, who was younger than Maye when he reached the Super Bowl. On Jan. 20, 1985, Marino was 23 years and 127 days old when he played in the Big Game with the Miami Dolphins, who went on to lose 38–16 to the San Francisco 49ers.
Maye will be 23 years and 162 days old when he takes the Super Bowl LX field with the Patriots, making him the second-youngest player to start at quarterback in the championship game. Third on that list is Ben Roethlisberger, with Brock Purdy ranking fourth from his time with the 49ers.
The 10 youngest quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl
It’s worth noting that Maye also ranks ahead of other Patriots quarterbacks such as Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady. Both are still on the list of the 10 youngest quarterbacks to reach the Big Game, but Maye now sits much higher and did it in a significantly shorter amount of time.
| Rk | Player | G# | Week | Date | Age | Team |
| 1 | Dan Marino | 3 | 20 | 1985-01-20 | 23-127 | MIA |
| 2 | Drake Maye | 4 | 22 | 2026-02-08 | 23-162 | NWE |
| 3 | Ben Roethlisberger | 4 | 21 | 2006-02-05 | 23-340 | PIT |
| 4 | Brock Purdy | 3 | 22 | 2024-02-11 | 24-046 | SFO |
| 5 | David Woodley | 4 | 21 | 1983-01-30 | 24-097 | MIA |
| 6 | Jared Goff | 3 | 21 | 2019-02-03 | 24-112 | LAR |
| 7 | Patrick Mahomes | 3 | 21 | 2020-02-02 | 24-138 | KAN |
| 8 | Tom Brady | 3 | 21 | 2002-02-03 | 24-184 | NWE |
| 9 | Jalen Hurts | 3 | 22 | 2023-02-12 | 24-189 | PHI |
| 10 | Drew Bledsoe | 3 | 21 | 1997-01-26 | 24-347 | NWE |
The Patriots are the only franchise with three quarterbacks on the list, while the Miami Dolphins have two. In addition to Marino, David Woodley also appears after playing in Super Bowl XVII at 24 years and 97 days old, a game the Dolphins lost 27–17 to Washington.
Maye has shown he can be a reliable quarterback capable of giving the Patriots something they lost when Brady left. With Mike Vrabel at the helm and a Super Bowl appearance in his first season, it also marks a major moment for a franchise that had not won a conference championship since Brady’s departure.