SEATTLE — With 4:15 left in the first quarter of Super Bowl LX, on third-and-15 from the Seattle Seahawks’ 48-yard line, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye took a shotgun snap. Less than three seconds later, the MVP-runner-up-turned-overmatched-target was dropped by a torpedo in football pads.

At least, that’s the way it looked inside Levi’s Stadium. Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon broke like a blur, an apparition right tackle Morgan Moses failed to even touch. He descended on Maye to end the play before it began, then rolled to his feet and cast an imaginary fishing line. Surrounded by a field of unfortunate fish, Witherspoon mimicked ripping back the pole and reeling in a catch.

In truth, he caught a quarterback … and a contract.

On Saturday, the Seahawks did what they needed to do, making Witherspoon the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. The 25-year-old torpedo (or fisherman, we’re mixing metaphors) agreed to a four-year, $132 million contract extension, according to Seattle Times reporter Bob Condotta. The deal keeps Witherspoon under contract through 2031.

In explaining Witherspoon’s value, the stats don’t tell the story. Yes, the former Illinois All-American totaled 72 tackles, seven passes defended, two tackles for loss and an interception in 2025. Yes, he was named a Pro Bowler for the third consecutive season. Yes, he’s turned in 249 tackles in 43 career games.

But it isn’t what he does. It’s how he does it. It’s the de-cleating delivered to Arizona Cardinals receiver Rondale Moore in his rookie season. It’s the mauling of Maye that forced a pick-six that sealed the Super Bowl. It’s the ferocious physicality exploding out of an unassuming 6-foot frame. It’s the selflessness, the big little things, like Spoon sprinting to clear paths for Derick Hall and Coby Bryant’s pick-sixes in 2024. It’s the mile-a-minute trash talk, the inexhaustible engine, the earthquakes left in Witherspoon’s wake.

It’s everything, including how he handled all of this. While waiting for an extension, Witherspoon didn’t hold out, negatively impacting the Seahawks’ season. He didn’t make demands on social media. He didn’t do anything to draw attention from Seattle’s quest for a second consecutive Super Bowl.

He practiced. He trash-talked. He injected energy. He left daily examples of why he’s worth it.

Of course, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald already knew what he’s worth. President of football operations and general manager John Schneider knew it, too. Heck, former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knew it the day he drafted him.

“Devon Witherspoon … he’s a rare player,” Carroll said on April 27, 2023. “We’ve been through this draft [process] since the years we’ve been here. We haven’t seen a guy like this. We have not drafted corners high, just because we haven’t come across a guy of this makeup. It’s really his athletic ability. It’s his speed. It’s his playmaking. It’s his mentality. I haven’t come across a guy like this in a long time.”

When you come across a guy like this, you don’t open the door. You build him a bedroom, write a check and reap the benefits.

Since April 27, 2023, the Seahawks have benefited in more ways than one. Schneider and Carroll didn’t just draft Witherspoon that day, maximizing their return from the Russell Wilson trade. They paired him with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, altering a team’s trajectory. They placed two dominoes — now the highest-paid players at their position — on a path to the promise land.

They’ve added other dominoes in three seasons since. Like Macdonald, probably the biggest of the bunch. Like linebacker Ernest Jones IV, defensive back Nick Emmanwori, defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, dominoes in the NFL’s most dominant defense. Like quarterback Sam Darnold, tight end AJ Barner, wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, etc. It took all and more to get where they went.

But without Witherspoon — the player, the person, the relentlessly revving engine — it wouldn’t really work. With an ability to cover on the outside, slide inside to nickel or blitz with abandon, Witherspoon’s versatility unlocks everyone else.

“Outside of the quarterback room we’ve got the hardest position on the field,” Witherspoon said on the first episode of HBO’s 'Hard Knocks.' “It’s hard to guard these guys, especially when you can’t touch them past 5 yards. These guys are real talented, man. It’s just a hard job to play. So when you’ve got a guy that can really shut down a receiver or just be versatile like I am, you don’t come across those guys often, for real. So when you’ve got a premier corner like that, you pay him. Like, please pay him. That’s all we saying.”

Witherspoon didn’t have to say anything else. The Seahawks paid him. While it’s a massive investment, and there are no guarantees in an unavoidably violent game, they did what they needed to do. They rewarded a player who models everything Macdonald wants a Seahawk to be, and alleviated any lingering drama.

It’s a good day, and deal, for both Witherspoon and the Seahawks.

It’s a bad day for fish.

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