PITTSBURGH -- Cornerback Cortez Allen will remain with the Pittsburgh Steelers beyond this season, helping shore up a position where there is a dearth of promising young players.
Allen signed a five-year contract that is worth as much as $26 million, according to sources, and gives the Steelers his rights through the 2018 season. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported earlier Saturday that the two sides were closing in on a new deal.
Allen, who turns 26 in October, will start at left cornerback for the Steelers, and the team is hoping the 2011 fourth-round pick emerges as a top-caliber cover man. Allen started eight games last season and tied for the team lead with two interceptions.
The 6-foot-1, 196-pounder finished strong after an early season ankle sprain hampered him, and the Steelers signed Allen right before they have traditionally shut down business.
The team does not negotiate player contracts once the regular season starts. The Steelers open the season Sunday against the visiting Cleveland Browns.
Allen joins center Maurkice Pouncey, right tackle Marcus Gilbert and kicker Shaun Suisham in signing a new multiyear contract since June.
Team president Art Rooney II told ESPN.com last week that the Steelers might sign one more player to a new deal, and they had little choice but to lock up Allen long term.
Ike Taylor, who will start opposite Allen, is 34 and probably playing his last season for the Steelers. No. 3 cornerback William Gay is entering his eighth season and is best suited to play nickel back.
The Steelers have used fifth-round picks on cornerbacks in the last two drafts but neither Terry Hawthorne nor Shaquille Richardson is on the 53-man roster. Richardson, who missed three preseason games because of a knee injury, is on the Steelers' practice squad.
The Steelers lost rising cornerback Keenan Lewis to free agency in 2013, and he has established himself a Pro Bowl-caliber player with the New Orleans Saints.
Pittsburgh didn't want to risk losing Allen, who has shown flashes of becoming a No. 1 cornerback.
Signing Allen also means the Steelers can use a franchise or transition tag on outside linebacker Jason Worilds next March to keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
The Steelers will pay Worilds, who led them with eight sacks in 2013, $9.754 million this season after using a transition tag on the fifth-year veteran in March.
They will try to lock him up with a long-term deal after this season if the former second-round pick builds on the strong second half he enjoyed in 2013.