A breakdown in contract negotiations leaves a lucrative extension on the table as the injured star cornerback bets on himself heading into a high-stakes free agency market.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were without cornerback Joey Porter Jr. for the second game in a row on Sunday.
The Steelers defense made life a little tough on Drake Maye, but the offense didn't do its part in a 20-3 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 2.
Porter missed the game after suffering setback with his back injury. He has been embroiled in a contract despute since the offseason.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette told 102.5 WDVE on Sunday that the Steelers were ready to offer Porter $27 million for this season. But the Steelers are done negotiating know that the season has started.
“They’re not talking to him anymore. I don’t see how Joey Porter Jr. will go play this year for just south of $4 million when he walked away from what would have been just north of $27 million this year,” Dulac said, via a transcription from Steelers Depot.
Per OverTheCap, $27 million for this season would have made Porter the seventh-highest paid cornerback in the league between Jaycee Horn's $25 million per year and Derek Stingley Jr.'s $30 million per year.
Per ESPN, negotiations broke down before the two sides even got to the per year sum. Frankly, the Steelers' offer feels off by at least $500,000 in that department.
However, what bothered Porter's camp was a difference in guaranteed money.
The Steelers hope Porter can return for their Week 3 contest at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals will enter the contest with a 2-0 record after thumping the Houston Texans 20-6 on Sunday.
Porter has a chance to bet on him self and make even more money in free agency in the next offseason. The 2023 second-round pick will enter a market that has ballooned after Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez signed new deals this summer.
While Porter is not currently on the level of those players, he can take advantage of the market increasing, which could see him bargain for a deal well north of the $27 million the Steelers were ready to offer before the season.
