Joey Porter Jr. has every right to want a new contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's severely underpaid on the last year of his rookie deal. That does not mean GM Omar Khan needs to be in any rush to meet the talented cornerback's salary demands.
The Steelers hold the biggest trump card possible in negotiations with Porter Jr. If they fail to find common ground on a long-term extension before the 2027 season: They can simply retain him via the franchise tag. That would force PIttsburgh to pay the 26-year-old around $23 million next year.
That's a hefty raise over the $4.9 million and change Porter Jr. is slated to make this season. Of course, Porter Jr. and his representatives would like to see him get a new deal that would pay him somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million per, and offer some long-term stability. He might be worth that sort of money, but it's still a large increase over the cash Pittsburgh would need to shell out via the franchise tag.
The stakes for all parties are relatively high. Porter Jr. is a core piece of Pittsburgh's present and future defense. He also needs to lock in a sizable chunk of guaranteed money in this contract to cement his financial future. It's easy to see why negotiations are tense.
How much should the Steelers pay Joey Porter Jr?
Expect both sides to keep posturing until a deal ultimately gets done. There's simply too much common ground here for the Steelers to let Porter Jr. get away. They need his services at cornerback, and he needs the money they will be willing to pay him as an above-average starter at a premium position.
The devil will be in the details of this negotiation. Porter Jr. might believe he's an elite defensive back, but the reality is he's not quite that caliber of player. He's a good, but not great one; his PFF grade of 67.6 last year ranked him as the 36th-best cornerback in the NFL. That figure is slightly deflated by Porter Jr. only producing one interception, but it still is fair to say he resides somewhere just outside the top 10 players at his position.
A.J. Terrell is currently the 10th-highest-paid corner in the league with a salary of $20.25 million. Adding in the inevitable rise of salaries over time, it's reasonable to project Porter Jr. to earn a contract that pays him more than Terrell. He might ask the Steelers for $30 million per season, but $25 million in average annual value feels like a nice compromise.
Pittsburgh would be wise to limit Porter Jr. to a four-year deal to avoid paying him as he enters his 30s. A four-year deal worth $110 million would present solid value for both sides. Porter Jr. should not reset the market, but the Steelers cannot afford to lowball a valuable player. This deal would be a reasonable win for both sides.
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