Joey Porter Jr. is waiting for the Steelers to sign him to a new contract, and his father says the hold-up is nothing to lose sleep over. Joey Porter Sr. said the wait is not pressure because the deal is going to happen, while the family stays on the same timetable as the team.
“How can you really complain about when they want to do the contract and we watched them make T.J. [Watt] wait twice?” Porter Sr. said. “It’s a process, and we embrace the process.”
Porter Jr. entered the league as the 32nd-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he is now viewed as the Steelers’ top cornerback and a rising young player on the roster. One beat writer has projected a deal that could reach $27 million per year, a number that would put him among the highest-paid defenders at his position if that estimate proves close.
The timing matters because the Steelers are trying to extend cornerstone players while still working within a contract style they have followed for years. That approach has not stopped them from making moves elsewhere this offseason, when they signed veteran Jamel Dean and used a third-round pick on Daylen Everette.
Cam Heyward also tried to settle the conversation for Porter Jr. during his Not Just Football podcast, telling him, “It takes a process. Don’t pay attention to any of the media. It’s more about you locking in, taking care of your family. It’s gonna get done.”
The tension is not whether the Steelers value Porter Jr.; it is how long they are willing to make him wait before paying him like one of the team’s core pieces. Pittsburgh has a habit of sticking to its precedents, but Porter’s talent could still force the organization to bend when the contract finally comes together.
