Joey Porter Jr.
The New England Patriots and star CB Christian Gonzalez have agreed to a new contract, resetting the cornerback market as the Pittsburgh Steelers and CB Joey Porter Jr. become the final team/cornerback pairing to try and work out an extension.
Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz and multiple insiders early Tuesday morning, Gonzalez is signing a four-year, $135 million extension contract. In new money average, that amounts to $33.75 million per season.
He’s the latest top cornerback to get paid since training camps opened after the Seattle Seahawks Devon Witherspoon reached a four-year, $132 million deal in mid-August. Trent McDuffie and Denzel Ward also received deals above the $30 million average yearly value mark this year.
BREAKING: The #Patriots and All-Pro CB Christian Gonzalez have agreed to a 4-year, $135M extension with $102M guaranteed, per multiple sources.
The deal, done by @WinSportsGroup, makes Gonzalez, who earned Pro Bowl honors last season, the NFL’s highest-paid CB in history. pic.twitter.com/gJF9WLNPDD
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 8, 2026
The Patriots selected Gonzalez 17th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He made Second-Team All-Pro in 2024 and was a force during the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl last year, where they fell short at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. He had an interception and six total tackles in the AFC title game against the Denver Broncos. He also had three pass breakups in the Super Bowl against the Seahawks.
To ensure that the Patriots kept Gonzalez in the short-term, they picked up his fifth-year option during the offseason. However, they did not want to let his status linger, so they signed him to a long-term deal. The Steelers obviously did not have the luxury of a fifth-year option with Porter because he was a second-round pick. This means 2026 is Porter’s final year on his rookie deal, creating a sense of urgency to get a deal done before Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Steelers have a long-standing self-imposed rule of not signing contract extensions once the season starts.
Gonzalez’s deal was considered complicated with insiders unsure if a deal would get done before the season begins. After announcing the agreement, Schultz acknowledged talks between the Patriots and Gonzalez stalled before finding new life a short time ago. New England starts its season Wednesday for the NFL’s opener which perhaps pushed up the deadline of the deal getting across the finish line.
These two deals could push up Porter’s numbers. While he may not surpass them in average yearly value, the more the cornerback as a market spikes, the more leverage Porter’s agency has to ask for a large contract.
The Steelers handed out multiple extensions this offseason for the 2023 draft class. TE Darnell Washington, OLB Nick Herbig, and DL Keeanu Benton all signed lucrative extensions. Porter should be the next one to do so, but despite his lack of interceptions, his level of play will still demand plenty of money. That means general manager Omar Khan has his work cut out for him.
In late August, head coach Mike McCarthy admitted the Steelers and Porter were at an “impasse.” During a Monday press conference, McCarthy noted “business conversations” were ongoing but did not detail how close the talks were. Speaking last week, Khan declined to offer a status update on the discussions and only said he hoped Porter would remain a Steeler for life.
Khan also indicated the Steelers would keep their house rule of not negotiating contracts once the regular season begins. Pittsburgh kicks off the season this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Talking to reporters earlier this month, Porter did not commit to playing but the expectation is he will suit up, new contract or not.
While Gonzalez practiced with the Patriots in training camp under the fifth-year option, Porter spent all of training camp on Pittsburgh’s Active/PUP list with a back injury. He’s since been activated off Active/PUP and has been ramping up his practice participation with the team since last week.