The rift between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, personified by threats of NFL investigations and counter-threats of a lawsuit by coaches Sean Payton and Mike Macdonald, has been put to bed by an apology.
Macdonald said Wednesday he has apologized to Payton.
But the interesting thing about the whole deal is that the apology came for the fact the exchange between the teams and coaches went public. And it got out because the Seahawks’ coach shared the saga on a podcast without expecting it to get out.
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Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
“It’s something that I didn’t intend for public use but you know, it just felt like it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really just apologize to him for having that end up being public where it wasn’t meant to,” Macdonald said.
“You’re kind of, something that they have to deal with in real time that wasn’t really on their end. So that’s really where you’re like, ‘Crap!'”
The reason Macdonald was cursing the situation is because he shared on the “In Depth With Graham Bensigner” podcast the story of Payton and the Broncos wrongfully accusing Macdonald and the Seahawks of cheating in 2024 by using practice video obtained from fans.
Macdonald shared the story not expecting it to be shared.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton looks on as players take part in drills at an NFL football training practice Monday, July 28, 2025, in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
SEAN PAYTON TAKES VICIOUS SHOT AT FALCONS HOME CROWD AFTER HUMILIATING FIRST HALF
But, yes, it was shared.
And because it had Payton threatening to report the Seahawks to the NFL for violating NFL filming rules a la Spygate, and because the Seahawks threatened to sue Payton and the Broncos if he took that step, it went viral.
“It’s a lesson learned,” Macdonald said. “You know, honestly, I got to be better in that moment for understanding, like, I’m responsible for what I say, really, no matter the circumstance – whether you’re mic’d up, whether or not you have some certain type of understanding.
“So I fell short in that moment … It stings for me, frankly, but it’s something that I’m definitely going to learn from.”
The lesson Macdonald will learn is not to share interesting stories expecting confidentiality – especially when the story is as juicy as this one.
Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider speaks during the Super Bowl LX trophy celebration at Lumen Field on Feb. 11, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
On the clip, Macdonald tells the story of how in 2024 the Seahawks took video sourced from fans attending Broncos training camp practices in scouting their upcoming opponent.
“We took like 100 plays from their training camp. We were scouting them,” Macdonald said.
Payton somehow found out the Seahawks had seen some of Denver’s plays, called Seahawks general manager John Schneider and “lost it,” according to Macdonald.
“He basically threatened to come out publicly and do a whole Patriot Spygate-type of thing,” Macdonald said on the podcast.
“I’m sitting there like, ‘Oh my God. We didn’t cheat.’ They thought it was a Michigan thing where we had a plant and the whole thing. So, we had to counter with him and say, ‘If you come out with this, we’re going to sue you because it’s not true.'”
Payton and the Broncos obviously didn’t make good on their threat to report the Seahawks, but things got a little frosty between the coaches.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton works on the sidelines during the first half an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
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That relationship, oddly enough, has warmed in part because of Macdonald making it public and calling Payton to apologize.
“Sean was great,” Macdonald said. “I’ll say, I respect the heck out of him and his program. Always have. He’s a phenomenal football coach. It’s been it’s been great to get to know him at the owners meetings the last couple years.
“And and he was awesome. So I know we’re both looking forward to moving forward from it, but I really appreciate how he handled it.”
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