The Tennessee Titans signed quarterback Will Levis to his four-year rookie contract over the weekend and now we wait to see if the Pittsburgh Steelers will be able to get their lone unsigned draft selection, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., signed to his rookie deal prior to the team reporting to training camp on Wednesday. The Levis contract details are now in, and those numbers show that the quarterback received 60.5 percent of his Year-Four money as fully guaranteed, according to Over the Cap.
If we rewind to several weeks ago, we see that the Detroit Lions signed second-round tight end Sam LaPorta, the 34th overall selection, to his four-year rookie contract and it included right at 20 percent of his year-four money being fully guaranteed. Shortly before LaPorta signed, the Las Vegas Raiders signed tight end Michael Mayer, the 35th overall pick in the NFL Draft. As part of his rookie contract, 15 percent of his Year-Four money was fully guaranteed. Levis, as you will see, jumped from the trending 25 percent of Year-Four money guaranteed up to 60.5-percent. That’s a healthy leap.
With Levis now signed, sealed, and delivered, Porter’s deal should get done soon and he should probably get no less than 65 percent of his Year-Four money fully guaranteed. In fact, his range will likely come in somewhere between 65 to 75 percent.
In total, Levis has 91.5-percent of his four-year rookie contract fully guaranteed and that is up from 80.36 percent from his 33rd overall slot last year. To be exact, Levis has $8,730,957 of his $9,542,162 total fully guaranteed.
Obviously, Porter was selected 32nd overall this year and normally that’s a first-round selection that has come with a fully guaranteed deal the last several years. Porter, however, was the first pick in the second round this year due to a pick forfeiture by the Miami Dolphins. That has led to Porter’s side attempting to push for a much higher percentage of guaranteed money in Year Four this year.
How soon will it be before the Porter versus Steelers standoff ends? With Levis now signed, one would think that the Porter deal should be completed before Wednesday. The only way it doesn’t is if Porter’s side continues to push for more than 75 percent in guarantees when it comes to his Year-Four money.
Porter is now one of three members of the 2023 NFL Draft class that remains unsigned.
Stay tuned.
