DJ Akademiks says Drake is on the verge of a new deal with Universal Music Group, and that it could be the biggest record deal in history. He made the claim during an appearance on One Night With Steiny, putting fresh attention on a renewal rumor that now hangs over one of music’s most closely watched names.
The reason the talk is landing now is simple: Drake may be about to hand Universal Music Group his next chapter just over a year after he took the label to court. In the account being circulated, he closed out his last contract by dropping three surprise albums, ICEMAN, Habibti, and Maid of Honour, and that agreement was reportedly worth $400 million. He was said to have fulfilled it in May 2026, which is what makes any new deal chatter so hard to ignore.
Akademiks did not leave much room for subtlety. He said, “This is definitely official. Drake is at the precipice of being in a new deal,” and added that he is “set to receive probably the biggest record deal in history.” That kind of language turns a rumor into a number people start doing math around, especially when the reported old contract already sat at $400 million. If the new one is larger, it would have to clear that figure by definition, and that is why the claim is drawing so much attention.
But the picture is still incomplete. Neither Drake nor Universal Music Group has publicly verified any negotiations, and no financial figures have been put on record by either side. That gap matters because the story is being framed against Drake’s recent fight with the label, including a defamation lawsuit he filed in January 2025 over Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us. A federal judge dismissed the case later that year, leaving the relationship between the two sides publicly unsettled even as speculation about a renewal now races ahead of confirmation.
For now, the only hard fact is that the biggest part of the story remains unproven. Drake may be nearing a deal that resets the top end of the market, but until Universal Music Group or Drake says so directly, the headline is still a claim rather than a contract.
