Akademiks Says Drake’s Next Deal Could Be the Biggest in History
Drake might be a free agent right now — and if DJ Akademiks is right, his next signature is about to break the record books.
On the One Night With Steiny podcast (Oct. 29), Akademiks said Drake has completed his deal with Universal Music Group — reportedly worth around $400 million — and is “at the precipice of being in a new deal.” His words: Drake is “set to receive probably the biggest record deal in history, on the books, in terms of what they would have to pay him as an advance.”
Now, let’s keep it a stack, because Ak himself did. After the clip started moving, he clarified that this was not an announcement that Drake signed anything. His deal is up, he doesn’t know what Drake is going to do — but if Drake re-signs, Ak says it would be the biggest deal in hip-hop history. Reports say the last deal was fulfilled after Drake dropped three projects in May 2026 — ICEMAN, Habibti, and Maid of Honour.
As of right now, neither Drake nor UMG has confirmed any new deal, any talks, or any numbers. Everything past that is speculation.
But here’s the real conversation: after everything that went down in 2024, is Drake still the artist who commands the biggest bag in music? Ak pointed at the mega-deals of Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd as the bar — and says Drake’s advance would clear them all.
What do y’all think — is Drake still worth the biggest record deal in history? Drop it in the comments.
