New Orleans Saints Player Sentenced for DUI, NFL Suspension Likely

A New Orleans Saints player has been sentenced for his 2021 driving under the influence (DUI) charge. According to multiple reports, safety Marcus Maye reached a plea agreement that will give him six months probation and 50 community service hours. According to ESPN, Maye will also have his driver’s license suspended for six months. The probation and suspended license will conclude on Feb. 21, 2024. 

“Mr. Maye’s legal saga has come to a conclusion today and he looks forward to focusing on football,” his attorney Eric Schwartzreich told ESPN on Monday. Maye was arrested for the incident on Feb. 22, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he originally entered a not-guilty plea in February of this year but changed it to no contest in August. In the incident, Maye allegedly crashed into the left rear of another car while driving on the Florida Turnpike. The driver of the car filed a civil lawsuit in June 2021 and is seeking at least $30,000 for neck and back injuries. 

According to NOLA.com, Maye could be suspended for three games based on the NFL’s policy and program for substance abuse. The league has not commented on the case. Maye, 30, is entering his second season with the Saints after spending his first five seasons with the New York Jets. Last season, Maye played in 10 games and recorded 42 tackles and two passes defended in 10 games. 

Maye was selected by the Jets in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft and played college football at Florida. In his five seasons in New York, Maye tallied 372 tackles, 3.5 sacks, six interceptions and 26 passes defended. During his final season with the Jets, Maye played in just six games as he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 9. In March of 2022, Maye signed a three-year, $28.5 million contract with the Saints and is expected to be a starting safety for the team this season. 

After signing with the Saints, Maye talked about being a versatile safety. “I did a number of things, whatever coaches asked me to do,” Maye said, per the Saints’ official website. “If it was back deep at free safety, to come up in the box, to roll down in the slot, to come off the edges, different blitzes, man to man. Pretty much whatever the coach asked you to do, I feel like I can get that job done. So I’m excited to plug myself in on this new defense, go out there and make plays with these guys.

“I take pride in being versatile. You can’t be one-dimensional, you’ve got to be able to do multiple things. It allows you to be on the field at different times and different places and things like that. So if that’s covering man to man, blitzing off the edge, playing that deep free safety, playing in the box, rolling down, I feel like I can do it all. I take pride in that.”