When Byron Maxwell finally made the Packers pay by picking off a pass from Aaron Rodgers in the opener Thursday, the immediate thought was: If teams keep throwing at him like that, he will end up in the Pro Bowl alongside Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor.

Teammate Michael Bennett added another thought, quipping to reporters, “All they’re doing is driving Maxwell’s price up.”

And now we have an idea of the price after Pittsburgh gave cornerback Cortez Allen a five-year deal worth $26 million this weekend.

Like Maxwell, Allen was drafted in 2011 (Allen in the fourth round, Maxwell in the sixth) and was due to become a free agent after this season. In eight starts last season, Allen intercepted two passes and had 13 passes defensed. Maxwell started the final five games and had four interceptions in the final four games.

So, the baseline for Maxwell obviously is $5 million a year, and the question is whether the Hawks want to give another big contract to a Legion of Boomer after paying Chancellor, Thomas and Sherman over the past two years.

Maxwell is one of four key defenders in the last year of their contracts, along with defensive end Cliff Avril and linebackers K.J. Wright and Malcolm Smith. The Hawks also might consider trying to keep left guard James Carpenter if he finally plays well for a full season. And towering over all of them is quarterback Russell Wilson, who will be eligible for a contract extension.

If the Hawks make no extensions during the season, they figure to have at least $29 million in room under a projected $140 million salary cap. If they roll over any of their unused 2014 cap space — currently at $7.3 million, but likely to shrink a bit due to injury replacements during the season — they could end up with something around $35 million.

That’s with only 40 players signed for 2015, so deduct a base $7.5 million for 13 cheap players to fill out the roster, plus $1 million or so for rookie signing bonuses and $1 million for the practice squad. That would leave maybe $25 million to extend Wilson and decide among Avril, Maxwell, Wright, Smith and Carpenter — plus, a tender for restricted free-agent receiver Jermaine Kearse and the usual injury slush fund.

Figure the Hawks can get away with Wilson counting $10 million in 2015 (before his cap hit likely jumps to $20 million in succeeding years). That would leave maybe $10 million for other free agents, which means the Hawks might be able to keep two among Avril, Maxwell, Wright, Smith and Carpenter — unless, of course, they remove other salaries (e.g., Tony McDaniel at $2.5 million) or restructure Percy Harvin’s deal to free up more money (they could add $6 million or so if they were willing to add to his future cap hits).

Avril, 28, surely is hoping to hit $10 million a year in one last big NFL contract. Wright and Smith probably will hope to get $5 million per year. And if Maxwell keeps picking off passes, his price might go beyond $5 million.

The Hawks are unlikely to pay that much for Avril, Wright or Smith, but will they be willing to pay another Legion of Boomer?