As Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. finds himself in line for a significant extension in training camp, the market value for the top cornerbacks is about to go up, thanks to the New England Patriots.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters Saturday at training camp that the franchise made cornerback Christian Gonzalez a record-setting contract offer with hopes of getting a long-term deal done.

“We love Christian Gonzalez. We love him as a player, as a person, and that’s why we’ve made an offer to him to make him the highest-paid player to ever play that position in the NFL,” Kraft said Saturday, according to video via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “And coincidentally, it is the highest contract in Patriots franchise history.

“So we’re glad we drafted him, he’s developed here, and we hope he’ll be with us for a long time.”

Robert Kraft on Christian Gonzalez: Patriots love him, made him offer as highest-paid CB, richest contract in franchise history, and hope he is with us for a long time. pic.twitter.com/bxRsdDkHvQ

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 25, 2026

Currently, Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback Trent McDuffie has the largest contract in NFL history at cornerback, having signed for $124 million this offseason after a trade from the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Over The Cap, McDuffie also has the highest average salary per year at $31 million, just ahead of Indianapolis’ Sauce Gardner at $30.1 million and Houston’s Derek Stingley at $30 million.

Gonzalez is a former first-round pick whom the Patriots took at No. 17 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. A pick that the Patriots acquired from the Steelers, ironically, after Pittsburgh traded up for offensive tackle Broderick Jones that year.

In his three seasons, Gonzalez has played 34 games to date, recording 145 tackles, three interceptions and 24 pass breakups. He’s earned one Pro Bowl nod and one second-team All-Pro accolade, so that gives him an edge over Porter, even though the Steelers’ young cornerback has similar stats.

If Gonzalez does end up resetting the market, it will cause Porter’s price to rise, too. Previous projections had Porter coming in between $25 million and $30 million, but with Gonzalez poised to reset the market, it could push Porter north of $30 million, a figure some beat writers have speculated the Steelers might not feel comfortable surpassing.