Mays was born in Irving, Texas, the son of Stafford Mays, a former NFL defensive lineman, and Laurie Mays (née Black), a Nordstrom executive. He is African-American and Jewish and was raised in his mother's Jewish religion. Growing up he attended Sunday school from a young age, and then Hebrew school twice a week. He had a football-themed bar mitzvah in February 2001. Speaking of his bar mitzvah, he said: "I don't think at the time I really understood what it meant. Now, looking back on it, I feel like I have come a long way in regards to maturity and becoming an adult. I think it helped me do that". Growing up, he "celebrated Chanukah, Passover, and Yom Kippur always".