Over the first two years of his career, Joey Porter Jr. showed a lot of flashes. However, things weren’t as consistent, especially with penalties, as the Steelers would have liked it to be.
Yet Porter took a massive step forward in 2025 and silenced all those doubts. He was strong throughout the year, had little to no issues with penalties and made some massive plays down the stretch to help the Steelers win the division.
Now he’s heading into his third year. If a contract extension was to come with Pittsburgh, it would happen this offseason. To Steelers beat writer Ray Fittipaldo, that’s a likely scenario, and it should pay him some pretty good money.
“Joey’s a slam dunk, right. Joey had a really good year. I think they have to go out and sign him to market value for, you know, a top, young cornerback in the league. I don’t know exactly what that is. But you’re probably looking at $15 million or more to get him under contract. I think that’s money well spent. He knows the Steeler way. He’s gotten better and better each year. I think that would be a good investment,” Fittipaldo said Friday on 93.7 The Fan.
In terms of average annual salary, there are some cornerbacks making quite a lot of money. Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr. are each making $30 million. While Joey Porter Jr. was impressive last year, he likely won’t be resetting the market.
With that said, Porter’s price tag might not be too far below those numbers. Porter is 25 years old, and there are a couple of cornerbacks his age making good money. Jaycee Horn and A.J. Terrell, each the same age as Porter, earn $25 and $20.2 million respectively. Daron Bland, who’s one year older, makes $22.5 million.
It won’t be extreme money, but Porter certainly could fall into a similar price range. And for what it’s worth, he seems ready for that kind of deal. Speaking the day after the playoff loss to Houston, Porter mentioned that his father, Joey Porter Sr., was aware of the worth his son might bring in on the open market.
If the Steelers wait, they’ll have to bid against other teams in 2027. And if Porter puts together another great year in 2026, that price only gets more expensive. That, plus the lack of depth Pittsburgh currently has at cornerback, makes Joey Porter Jr. a prime extension candidate. While it might be an expensive one, the price tag could be worth it for the Steelers.
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