The Pittsburgh Steelers are hardly perfect as a franchise, but they could always be respected for doing one thing well—they are loyal to their former star players, almost to a fault. Now Joey Porter Sr. just crossed a line... and he's not about to be welcomed back to the Steel City with open arms.
On Sunday, just days after his son Joey Porter Jr. forced his way out of Pittsburgh and was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, Porter Jr. played his first game in a Cowboys uniform (which felt weird, if I may add). On 24 snaps, the talented cornerback did not allow a single reception and was targeted just once.
But that's not what set Steelers fans into a rage; it was his father's comments after the game.
Porter Sr. took to social media to express his joy that football is back, but more importantly, to take a blatant jab at the Steelers.
"I almost forgot what it was like to walk through a hostile environment on game day," Porter said in a video he posted to Instagram. "They tried to take me away from football for four weeks.... They held us down for three weeks; they couldn't hold us down for longer, man. Football is back."
The 'they' he's referring to is obviously the Steelers... and they didn't hold his son back; he refused to suit up despite being under contract. Now in Dallas, Porter still doesn't have an extension, but he's electing to play anyway.
Oh, and that 'back' injury that kept flaring up? Yeah, that was all fake (just like we all knew it was).
The Porter family may not be welcome back at the Pittsburgh Steelers' facility after this
This doesn't seem like a good way to repay the franchise that gave you everything.
After drafting Porter Sr. in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft, the Steelers made him a full-time starter by year two, and he would go on to earn three Pro Bowls in Pittsburgh. After eight excellent seasons and entering his age-30 campaign, former general manager Kevin Colbert and the organization decided to move in a different direction in 2007.
Porter finished his NFL career in Miami and Arizona before rejoining the Steelers' organization as an assistant coach from 2014 to 2018, primarily as the outside linebackers coach. Porter was not fired; rather, his contract was not renewed after the 2018 season.
Five years later, the Steelers would spend the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on Porter's son, Joey Porter Jr. While Porter was a talented player who warranted this selection, we knew that family ties also played a significant role in this decision.
But as we recently witnessed, the Steelers were at an impasse with Porter Jr.—and this was all because being one of the NFL's seven highest-paid cornerbacks wasn't enough.
According to ESPN insider Ian Rapoport, the Steelers offered Porter a deal that reached $28 million per season. But apparently, this was a laughable amount that caused Porter Jr. to pout from the sidelines as he watched his team struggle in the first month of the season.
"Pittsburgh did offer Porter a contract that, with some work, could have been acceptable to keep him with the team," Rapoport wrote on ESPN. "The Steelers presented Porter with a deal that reached $28 million in average annual value—a pitch that would have been the starting point for a deal to be consummated."
Rapoport also wrote that there was significant money guaranteed in the event of an injury, but it was not fully guaranteed in the second year. This may have been the hold-up.
Either way, the fact that the Porters felt 'disrespected' by the organization that was willing to make Porter Jr. one of the highest-paid players at the position is almost comical.
27 years. That's how long ago Joey Porter Sr.'s relationship began with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And for roughly half of that time, he was either playing or coaching for this franchise.
In a foolish moment of reckless decision-making, Porter was willing to burn every bridge with the franchise that gave him everything. Good riddance.
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