The NFL season is just about to begin, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are still sitting on their hands with Joey Porter Jr. While the other top cornerbacks in the league are getting paid, Pittsburgh has stood pat with their top name in need of a new deal in 2026.
The Steelers have made their stance clear that they won't continue negotiations into the season. This means the deadline for Porter to get a new deal ends this weekend.
With the market now set, it feels like both sides need to make a concession or two to get a deal done. We know the current ranking of cornerbacks in terms of who is the highest paid, so that should make the bulk of the negotiations easier.
However, the regular season is almost here, and the door for a new deal is closing. For the Steelers, there is a clear trend in their contracts, and it should follow suit with a new Porter deal.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can pay Joey Porter Jr. more than you would think
When it comes down to contracts, two aspects stick out as important when negotiating: the average annual value and the guaranteed money. While there are other details worth discussing, players and the team are usually concerned with how much they are getting per year and how much of that is promised upon signing.
The Steelers have bucked the trend on the guarantee money recently. Previously, you would have needed to be a quarterback or the highest-paid player at your position to get any money guaranteed past year one.
That rule was broken last year with DK Metcalf's new deal. Given Porter's standing in the league compared to Metcalf's a year ago, I think there is a good argument for Porter to guarantee the second year of his deal.
As for value, Porter being the top-paid cornerback is a stretch by all accounts. However, overpaying him slightly in average annual value is fine with me. You can structure the contract elsewhere to still make this favorable for the Steelers.
The Steelers can backload the contract with relative ease, meaning Porter will have to prove his value over the next few years. This means the team can cut bait if Porter falters.
We saw this structure for both the Nick Herbig and Keeanu Benton deals. While neither got guaranteed money in the second year, they both got paid more per season than most people thought they would. However, after the second year of the deal, both of those contracts are easy to get out of.
The Steelers can structure Porter's similarly. It is a worst-case scenario that you would want Porter off the team in 2027. Even if he does completely implode, you can cut him one year later with minimal recourse.
I think a new deal paying Porter over $30 million per year, with his second year guaranteed, can still be team-friendly if they backload the rest of the deal. It ends this tiring saga of will-they, won't-they in terms of signing him and locks up a young player on a favorable deal.
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