You will never guess who the most underpaid player for the New England Patriots is.
The New England Patriots had a magical 2025 season. They won the AFC in Year 1 of the Mike Vrabel era and Year 2 of the Drake Maye era.
Unfortunately, the Patriots lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Despite losing to Seattle, New England has a bright future with Maye leading the way. After all, Maye was second in MVP voting last season and he's already one of the best players in the league while being on his rookie contract.
"Dude fell a couple votes shy of winning the MVP but will carry just the 26th-highest cap hit ($9.9 million) among quarterbacks in his third season. Since this one's obvious, we'll also shout out Pro Bowl cornerback Christian Gonzalez and his $4.8 million cap number for '26," Bleacher Report wrote.
Maye finished the 2025 regular season with 4,394 passing yards and 31 passing touchdowns while completing 72.0% of his passes. The Patriots won the AFC but lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
A UNC product, Maye finished the Super Bowl with 295 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two interceptions. It's fair to wonder how he would have played against the Seahawks had he not gotten hurt against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
"My arm was feeling great all year. I don't think throwing was the [issue]. It's a case of having one hit in the AFC Championship Game that was unfortunate timing," Maye said.
"You can't blame things on injuries. Things happen like this all the time in the league. I was blessed this year -- what a year of health. You can't zone in on one little thing on the shoulder -- it was just unfortunate that it happened to be the throwing one. At the same time, I could have prevented it or made more plays. I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself."
After playing like a superstar in the regular season, Maye's numbers dropped in the playoffs to six touchdown passes and four interceptions. However, that didn't stop the Patriots from getting players in free agency.
"Drake Maye is a phenomenal player," New Patriots player Kevin Byard said. "I've heard nothing but great things about him from multiple people in the organization even before I got here."
Let's see if the Patriots can get back to the Super Bowl next season and win it all in Year 2 of the Vrabel era and Year 3 of the Maye era.
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