The Pittsburgh Steelers haven't been the best team in recent history in terms of drafting, but there is no doubt they hit on the 2023 draft class. Although General Manager Omar Khan recently traded away his first-ever pick in Broderick Jones to the Dallas Cowboys, he awarded Nick Herbig, Keeanu Benton, and Darnell Washington massive extensions, locking down the class' core for the foreseeable future. However, he may have missed out on the most important one, as Joey Porter Jr. is still without an extension and hasn't guaranteed his availability for the season opener.
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Pittsburgh Steelers star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) celebrates a big pass breakup during a road game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2025.
Porter is looking to become one of the highest-paid, if not the highest-paid, cornerbacks. The former Penn State Nittany Lion is coming off his best season as a pro, but did not earn a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection. Now entering the final year of his rookie deal, he wants to secure his future, but the organization does not appear to share the same view of Porter's value.
Cornerbacks are one of the toughest positions to evaluate when it comes time to pay them what the market dictates. Paying them a huge number can be a big risk when their primes can be so short. Porter is 26 and has yet to receive his second NFL contract, and with how cornerbacks typically age in the NFL, he wants his payday now since it may not come later.
Joe Starkey of 93.7 The Fan recently appeared on The Pomp and Joe Show, where he discussed Porter's contract negotiations and offered fans some insight into why the defensive back may want his payday now rather than next year. Starkey even compared Porter's situation to another Steelers player who likely regrets settling for what was in front of him.
"He's in a position where this might be the only big contract of his entire career. He's on the way up," Starkey stated. "Go ask Alex Highsmith who we were all like, wow, look at the money Highsmith signed for. Now that money looks like peanuts and people know that. Joey's signing for what he thinks he's going to be worth in a year, two, three down the road, and that's why I think he has every right to ask for $30 million plus and at least $50 million guaranteed."
Coming off a season in which he had 14.5 sacks, Alex Highsmith signed a four-year, $68 million extension in July of 2023, which at the time was a huge contract. Now it appears to be a bargain, as he is the 25th highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. Injuries have bugged him over the course of his career, but when healthy, Highsmith is arguably the Steelers' best edge rusher, in a room where TJ Watt has a cap hit of $41 million.
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Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith comes out of the tunnel during a preseason game against the Packers.
Now that Porter is coming off his best season as a pro, he does not want to make the same mistake Highsmith did and fall off the charts after just a year of his extension being in effect. Even though he is the team's best cornerback, he has virtually no leverage in the negotiations. He's coming off one great season, in which he had just one interception.
Steelers Have All The Leverage
Porter still has one year remaining on his contract, meaning he's still under an obligation to play this season. If Porter were to decide to holdout this year, he may do more damage to himself than the team. History shows that players who sit out to get what they want often end up hurting themselves and derailing their careers. Pittsburgh knows this too well, as Le'Veon Bell sat out the 2018 season and never became the same player.
Without individual accolades and only three career interceptions, Khan and the front office may not want to commit a market-setting deal to a player coming off one terrific season.
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