Mike Macdonald: Sean Payton Accused Seahawks of Cheating, Hawks Threatened to Sue

Mike Macdonald said in an interview that Sean Payton accused the Seattle Seahawks of cheating.

That was back in 2024, in Macdonald's first year as head coach in Seattle. He also said the Seahawks threatened to sue Payton if Payton made the allegations of cheating public.

Apparently it made for some awkward moments at the owner's meetings, too.

Mike Macdonald: Sean Payton Accused Seahawks of Cheating

A clip of the Seahawks coach has surfaced in which he tells interviewer Graham Bensinger that Payton accused him of cheating.

Macdonald said he and the Seahawks used clips posted to Twitter from Broncos fans in training camp, and scouted Denver from them.

"I like Sean a lot. He's not my biggest fan," Macdonald starts. "Our first year, we play them our first game...Fans will post plays from training camp on Twitter. So it's like public...So we took like 100 plays from their training camp. We're scoutin' 'em. Anyways, he got wind of it and he like lost it.

"He called John [Schneider, GM of the Seahawks] basically threatened to come out publicly and do a whole Patriots Spygate thing. I'm sitting there like, 'Oh my god, we didn't cheat.'

"So we had to counter like, 'Hey we're going to sue you because it's not true.'"

Watch the entire clip here:

The part of the interview that was released on Tuesday afternoon was never meant to be seen by the public per Pro Football Talk.

"And there’s a question as to whether the various things Macdonald said to Bensinger (regarding Payton and others) are the product of arrogance or naiveté," Florio writes while explaining, correctly, that nothing is off the record unless it's expressly said so and agreed upon by the interviewer as well.

Later in the interview Macdonald said the two of them saw one another at the owner's meetings. The 'Hawks coach was going for a run and Payton walked into the same elevator as him. And Macdonald said he domineered over Payton, who said "oh hey coach" and "totally backed down." Which does sound a bit arrogant, honestly.

But Macdonald is also a bit of a quirky guy. The more you see him speak—like we did a lot this summer on Hard Knocks—the more awkward he comes off. Plus, this is football. It's all posturing and physicality, man.

The Seahawks apparently just learned of the clip on Tuesday per Florio, and will likely be quite upset with this getting out. And the Broncos are probably not happy about it either because Sean Payton will be asked about it by reporters likely on Wednesday and it may linger for a little while.

The Broncos face the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football in Week 6, in just about three weeks from now.

These are big allegations going both ways. It's a big story.

Payton looks silly for thinking the Seahawks had one of their employees embedded at Broncos camp, like the "Michigan" scandal as Macdonald mentioned. They didn't need anyone there when fans post plays online all the time.

It also just shows yet again how much Payton wants to win everything, every single game.

The Seahawks won that game in question 26-20 to kickoff each teams' 2024 season. Seattle scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to take the 26-13 lead and a late Bo Nix rushing touchdown wasn't enough.

Nix threw two touchdowns in that, his first professional game, including one with 5:37 to play that basically sunk the Broncos. Jaleel McLaughlin also lost a fumble in the game as Denver was -1 in the turnover department.

Sean Payton Makes Another Coaching "Friend"

Last year, Payton called Jacksonville a "small-market team" which ruffled fur of the Jaguars.

Liam Coen didn't appreciate it.

"Just thankful that a small-market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done," he said after the Jags beat the Broncos last December.

The Broncos beat the Jaguars last week, so the comments came up again.

"I talked to Sean at the owners' meetings, and he gave me a little love for it, but he said, 'We're coming. I'm coming for you this year.' I mean, it's great," Coen said last week.

Payton also talked a bit of trash about Nathaniel Hackett back in 2023 when he took over the Broncos. He said he took over for "one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL."

And now he and Macdonald have a beef.

Remember he's a disciple of Bill Parcells, an old-school, tough-nosed coach.

So, maybe that's Payton's way of welcoming the young guys to the league.

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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.