‘Better Get Nephew Paid’: James Harrison Warns Steelers Not To Wait To Extend Joey Porter Jr.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense underperformed in 2025, but Joey Porter Jr. was a bright spot. Porter showed some encouraging signs, including cutting his penalty yards down, and he looked like a true No. 1 corner. However, Porter only has one year left on his rookie contract, so the Steelers have to decide whether or not to give him an extension this offseason.

“Steelers, y’all better get Nephew [Porter] paid,” James Harrison said Monday on his Deebo and Joe podcast. “Because they’re saying that, if you do it now, you might have a chance at getting him at a reasonable price. If you let that man play this out, and he get to next year, I don’t know if it’s still gonna be $32 [million] a year. Might be something worse than that. Y’all make sure y’all get Nephew, Joey Porter Jr., paid.”

Indianapolis Colts corner Sauce Gardner is the highest-paid player at his position, making a little more than $30 million a year. Derek Stingley of the Houston Texans is right behind him at $30 million annually.

Therefore, $32 million per year isn’t just No. 1 corner money. It’s the price for the best corner in the league. Porter had a good 2025 season, but he hasn’t proven enough to warrant that kind of payday yet.

Harrison is predicting that Porter could cost even more than that if the Steelers wait until next year to sign him. Maybe he’ll be right, but Porter would have to have an incredible 2026 season to do that. Compare his current body of work to Gardner or Stingley. Both those players are multi-time first-team All-Pros while Porter has yet to even make a Pro Bowl.

However, Harrison still might have a point. Signing Porter to an extension this offseason would be wise. The corner market has ballooned in recent years, and that’s only going to continue with the way that the salary cap is rising. Also, other promising young corners like Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez will likely get paid soon, which will further drive the market up.

While the Steelers have a lot of money invested in their defense, it’s important to lock up young talents like Porter long term. That’s especially true for the Steelers, who have struggled to draft and develop corners in recent years. Porter isn’t worth $32 million a year, but he should still get a hefty extension.