Printed: October 23, 2025
In case you missed it, the Denver Broncos and New York Giants confronted off in a historic comeback effort by the Broncos on Sunday. Russell Wilson didn’t play a snap, however he featured closely within the postgame narrative because of some snarky feedback from Broncos head coach Sean Payton, whose dislike of Wilson is closely documented. Right here’s what occurred and why these two are seemingly at one another’s throats.
Why Sean Payton hates Russell Wilson
So far as anybody can inform, there’s no particular purpose that Sean Payton seemingly can’t stand Russell Wilson aside from the truth that their pairing in 2022 and 2023 didn’t work out. Wilson was a celebrity with the Seattle Seahawks, however his time there was up. The Denver Broncos, determined for a Peyton Manning substitute (sure, even all these years later) made one of many largest blockbuster trades for Wilson after which signed him to an enormous extension. The transfer didn’t work out even barely.
Additionally at the moment, the Broncos satisfied Payton to return out of retirement and coach them, even buying and selling with the New Orleans Saints for Payton’s teaching rights (sending a primary and second-round choose). Denver invested an unbelievable quantity on this pairing, and it backfired.
Wilson was fairly terrible within the first yr in Denver. Payton, a famend floor-raiser as a coach, may do little with him. In yr two, issues bought considerably higher, however the relationship had soured. Regardless of strong QB play and an outdoor shot at a playoff berth, Payton benched Wilson.
Wilson, in 2023, had simply over 3,000 yards in 15 video games, and he paired 26 landing passes with solely eight interceptions. But, Payton disliked Wilson a lot that he primarily handed on a playoff spot to bench him. Then, the Broncos launched Wilson and incurred the largest lifeless cap hit in NFL historical past simply to maneuver on. Throughout that point, plainly Payton developed a lifelong burning hatred for Wilson, and even now, he’s not letting it go.
What Sean Payton, Russell Wilson stated about each other
Quick ahead to Sunday, and issues are nonetheless very testy between the 2. After the historic win by Denver, Sean Payton gave opposing QB Jaxson Dart his flowers whereas delivering a devastating and pointless criticism of Russell Wilson.
Wilson was the preliminary starter earlier than the Giants gave their first-round choose a shot, and he’s performed pretty nicely with it. Payton stated after the sport, “You understand, they discovered a bit spark with that quarterback,” Payton stated postgame Sunday in reference to Dart. “I used to be speaking to [Giants owner] John Mara not too way back, and I stated, ‘We had been hoping that that change would have occurred lengthy after our sport.’”
That’s clearly a dig at Wilson, as Payton had hoped he’d have the perceived simpler matchup towards the supposedly worse quarterback in Wilson. Dart actually gave them a run for his or her cash, however the Broncos coach had hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He might have additionally hoped he may use his vaunted cross rush to make life terrible for Wilson, however that didn’t transpire, both. None of it sat proper with the quarterback, who took to social media to hit.
“Classless… however not stunned….Didn’t notice you’re nonetheless bounty looking 15+ years later by way of the media,” he wrote. It is a reference to Payton’s notorious Bountygate scandal wherein he and the Saints had been paying defenders to injure opponents. Wilson is likening his continued assaults on the QB to that. Will probably be attention-grabbing to see what Payton, who’s famously petty and doesn’t preserve feedback to himself fairly often, says in response to this one.
