There is no love lost between New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson and Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Wilson called out Payton on X Tuesday, seemingly in response to comments Payton made after Sunday’s game between the two teams. Wilson called Payton “classless,” but said he was not surprised by Payton’s remarks, and even alluded to the coach’s links to the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.
“Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media,” Wilson wrote.
Classless… but not surprised….
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 21, 2025
Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media. 😎😂 #LetsRide 🤣
Payton was the head coach of the Saints when defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was found to offer defensive players bounties to knock opponents out of games in a scandal that became known as “Bountygate.” While Payton did not run the scheme, he knew about it and sought to prevent the league from finding out about it. He was suspended for the entire 2012 season as a result of the scandal.
Payton went out of his way to throw shade at Wilson following the Broncos’ 33-32 win over the Giants on Sunday. The coach did so by revealing that he had told Giants owner John Mara that he had hoped New York would not make a quarterback change until after playing the Broncos. That suggested that Payton wanted to face Wilson instead of rookie Jaxson Dart.
There is nothing terribly surprising about the bad feelings between the two. Payton was brought in as Denver’s head coach for Wilson’s second season with the team, and the coach never seemed convinced by Wilson’s abilities. He did not seem to love Wilson’s public demeanor, either, and Payton ultimately made the call to bench Wilson for the final two games of the 2023 season.
Payton can argue that time has proven him right, as Wilson did not impress with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 and lost his starting job to Dart this season. Wilson would still prefer to see Payton keep those thoughts to himself.
