Super Bowl week is designed to amplify pressure. Every answer is dissected. Every gesture is magnified. And for a young quarterback standing on the edge of NFL immortality, thereâs very little room to sound human.
Drake Maye didnât seem to mind.

On Monday night in Santa Clara, surrounded by cameras and questions as Super Bowl 2026 media week kicked into full gear, the Patriots quarterback was asked something deceptively simple: to rank his wife Ann Michael Mayeâs baked goods.
What followed was not a gimmick. It was a quiet reveal.
âCinnamon roll snickerdoodle,â Maye said without hesitation. âThatâs my No. 1.â
He explained she had just baked them for the offensive linemen earlier in the week. Puppy chow landed at No. 3. Pistachio breadârespectfully acknowledged, but not his favorite.
And the crumble copycat slid into the No. 2 spot.

The room laughed. The clip spread quickly.
But beneath the humor sat something heavier.
Ann Michael Maye has become a parallel storyline to Drakeâs rise in 2025. Her TikTok baking videosâonce casual, almost domesticâhave exploded into a following of more than 500,000.
Her âBakemasâ holiday series quietly turned into a brand moment, culminating in the announcement of a new NBC Sports show, Beyond Bakemas.
As Drakeâs football world accelerated, hers did too.
And yet, when he spoke about her, there was no performance. No branding language. Just gratitude.
âShe makes something special every day,â Maye said.

Then he went further.
âYouâre the better half of me.â
In a room filled with football narrativesâinjuries, matchups, legacyâthose words landed differently. They werenât rehearsed. They werenât polished.
They sounded like something said often, not just when microphones are present.
Maye joked that his own kitchen skills stop at a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. But when asked what message he had for his wife, the tone shifted again.
âJust keep being you,â he said. âItâs a special moment for me to follow your journey.â
That ideaâfollowing her journeyâstood out.

This is a quarterback who has thrown for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns in his second NFL season. A former No. 3 overall pick who helped transform the Patriots from 3â14 to 14â3. A player firmly in the MVP conversation.
And yet, in this moment, he wasnât centering himself.
âWhat a blessing itâs been to have Ann Michael,â he added. âJust knowing thereâs a constant in my life.â
That wordâconstantâechoes.
Because as Super Bowl week continues, uncertainty is creeping in. Maye missed practice Friday after being limited the day before, dealing with a shoulder issue and an illness.

He said Monday that he threw earlier in the day. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels downplayed concern. Still, the questions are there.
Pressure. Expectations. Physical doubt.
And against all of that stands something steady.
A relationship that began when they were 12 years old. A partner whose rise mirrors his but isnât dependent on it. A presence that remains unchanged whether the season ends in confetti or quiet.
The baked goods ranking will be remembered as a fun clip. A viral moment. Something light to offset the weight of the week.

But what lingered wasnât the cinnamon roll snickerdoodle.
It was the reminder that even on the biggest stage of his life, Drake Maye knows exactly where his grounding comes from.
And maybe thatâs why he looks ready.
Leave a Reply