The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn't have asked for more than what they got out of Joey Porter Jr. during the 2025 season. After a shaky season in 2024—marred by penalties—the No. 32 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft finally put it all together and proved to be a consistent lockdown cornerback.
Now Porter is looking to get rewarded for his efforts... and a new deal won't come cheap.
It's no secret that general manager Omar Khan and the Steelers' front office want to get Porter locked up on a long-term extension. However, the latest reports suggest that the two parties aren't close to agreeing on a new deal. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questioned whether a deal would get done at all.
“They haven’t soured on the idea, but I don’t think they’re prepared to pay him the amount some people think he is worth,” Dulac wrote.
Meanwhile, rumors are surfacing that Porter wants to make $30 million per season and that the team might be closer to $20 million per year.
This creates a massive problem that might not end well for the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may be entering a lose-lose situation with Joey Porter Jr.
Here's the dilemma: the Steelers can't afford to let Porter walk away after the 2026 season... but they can't afford to pay him upwards of $30 million per season either. It's a vicious cycle.
Though Porter is coming off a strong season, cornerback is a fickle position, and there's no guarantee that he doesn't revert to his old ways or take a step back in 2026. If he does, his steep future contract number could look like a gross overpay.
At the same time, the Steelers have had a hard time finding long-term, high-level cornerback play for decades, and Porter might already be their best CB since Ike Taylor. Letting him walk during the 2027 offseason would set the defense back and force Pittsburgh to look for another cornerback—a position they haven't drafted well over the years.
We hope that the two sides can meet in the middle, but at this point, it might be time to hold the franchise tag over Porter's head.
The projected cost of the franchise tag for a cornerback in 2027 is $23.69 million, per Over the Cap. This would actually be a significant savings from the $30 million price tag Porter is apparently seeking. The problem with the tag is that it is a fully guaranteed one-year deal that the Steelers would have to absorb into their 2027 salary cap, as they would be unable to space out the cap hit.
The Steelers could even go as far as to threaten to double-tag Porter if he's not willing to come to an agreement. NFL clubs have the ability to tag a player twice, but the team must pay 120 percent of their previous salary or the average of the top five salaries at their position (whichever is higher).
It's hard to say what that number might look like, but it's possible that it's still $28 to $29 million by then, which means the Steelers may technically be able to keep Porter locked to the team from now through the 2028 season for less than he's seeking on a new deal.
Threatening the tag isn't a good PR move when it comes to relationships with agencies. But if the two parties are truly this far off on a new deal, this is a step the Pittsburgh Steelers must consider.
Sadly, it looks like Khan and the front office might be entering a lose-lose situation with Porter.
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