Byron Maxwell sat at a table outside the Seattle Seahawks' hotel four days before the Super Bowl well aware of what would come after the final game. He quipped that he would be the "prettiest girl at the dance" once free agency started.
Chip Kelly seemed to agree. The Eagles made Maxwell the fifth-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL with a six-year, $63-million contract in March. It is hefty compensation for a 27-year-old who started only 17 career regular season games and was always the least heralded player in his own secondary.
Elsewhere during Super Bowl week, Maxwell's name never neared the debate about who was the best cornerback in the NFL – the Seahawks' Richard Sherman or Darrelle Revis, formerly of the Patriots.