The Seahawks are set to play the Broncos in a few weeks, but it doesn't sound like Mike Macdonald expects to exchange too many pleasantries with Sean Payton.
Apparently, Payton was ready to launch an entire Spygate-inspired scandal against the Seahawks in 2024.
In an interview with Graham Bensinger, the Seahawks head coach brought up Payton. And Bensinger seemed to expect the typical kind words between head coaches. But once Bensinger said, "I like Sean a lot," Macdonald made it clear that the story was going in a different direction.
Basically, the Seahawks compiled fan-shot clips on social media from training camp and used it for scouting purposes. Payton was furious about that. He wanted to accuse the Seahawks of cheating.
#Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald
says #Broncos HC Sean Payton threatened to accuse Seattle of a Spygate-style cheating scandal in 2024. Macdonald says they found training camp clips on X and used them to their advantage when they played. (📽️ @GrahamBensinger)pic.twitter.com/xzRv3J6xh2
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2026
It got to the point where the Seahawks threatened to sue the Broncos if they went public with the accusation. After all, fan-shot video from training camp is in the public domain. The Seahawks didn't have an employee spying on practices like Michigan or Southampton.
The whole ordeal ended up getting resolved without Payton going public, and the two coaches are (somewhat) fine with each other now.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Mike Macdonald shared that Sean Payton threatened to accuse the Seahawks of spying
