Mayes is a direct descendant of a group of African Americans who fled racial persecution in Oklahoma in 1910 and traveled north to Saskatchewan, Canada, after reading flyers which promised 160 acres (0.65 km2) of free land to anyone willing to move there.
In 1980, Mayes led the NBCHS Vikings to an undefeated season and the SHSAA 3A provincial football championship.
Mayes played college football at Washington State University in Pullman, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American and finished tenth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1984.
In August 2017, a group of panelists commissioned by the Pac-12 Network picked the 12 greatest Washington State players [6] of all time and Mayes ranked No.
After five seasons with the Saints, Mayes was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in April 1992,[9][10] where he played the final two years of his career.
His wife of 36 years, Marie Mayes, serves as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and as a clinical assistant professor in the WSU Carson College of Business.
Their oldest son Logan was a three-star recruited linebacker at Marist Catholic High School in Eugene, Oregon, and committed to play at Washington State, following his father's footsteps.