After an offseason of extensions, Joey Porter Jr. is the final member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 draft class the team is attempting to re-sign. Despite coming into the offseason as the most obvious extension candidate, he has proven to be the toughest to sign.

There is reportedly a significant difference between what Porter wants and what the Steelers are willing to pay. On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo suggested Porter would become the league’s highest-paid cornerback once he gets an extension.

Steelers beat writer Ray Fittipaldo doesn’t think that will be the case. At least, not in Pittsburgh.

“You know what I was confused about, about that report from NFL Network last night? Where in the world did they get that Joey Porter is shooting to become the NFL’s highest-paid corner?” Fittipaldo asked Tuesday on his Steelers Collective show. “Joey’s a top-10, or top-15 corner, but man, if he’s shooting to be number one, I’ve got some bad news for him.”

Every high-level player seeking an extension typically wants to reset the market. The cornerback market reset twice this offseason. First, Browns CB Denzel Ward inked a deal worth $31.1 million per year. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon later upped that by a decent margin, signing a contract worth $33 million per year.

That’s a significant amount of money to pay Porter. And if the Steelers don’t think he’s worth $33 million a year, they’d have valid reasons for believing so. While he had a dominant 2025 campaign, he had some nagging penalty issues before that. Porter also doesn’t consistently force turnovers, nabbing three interceptions in three years.

At the end of the day, Fittipaldo thinks Porter will sign a new deal with the Steelers. But he expects Porter’s deal to be smaller than Ward’s.

“Joey’s probably at $33 [million], I think the Steelers originally were at like $25 [million]. So, let’s meet in the middle. $28 [million]-ish is what I’ll say the final number is,” Fittipaldo said.

The longer the contract takes, the higher Porter’s price goes. Since the start of the offseason, top-five cornerbacks are now paid over $30 million per year. So the Steelers will have to pay up, even if he doesn’t end up as the league’s highest-paid cornerback.

Whatever the price, the Steelers don’t have much time left. But they do have leverage, though. Porter is still under contract this year, and the Steelers can use the franchise tag next year, which will likely cost less than how much Porter is currently seeking. Regardless of how much his extension will be, Fittipaldo doesn’t think there’s a chance that Joey Porter Jr. resets the market.