Macdonald says Payton threatened spying accusation against Seahawks in 2024

Seattle's head coach revealed in an interview that Denver's Sean Payton considered going public with a cheating claim over fan-shot training camp video.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said in an interview with Graham Bensinger that Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton once threatened to accuse the Seahawks of a spying-style cheating scandal in 2024.

According to Macdonald, the Seahawks had compiled fan-shot training camp footage posted on social media and used it for scouting purposes ahead of a game. Payton was angered by the practice and considered publicly accusing Seattle of cheating.

Macdonald said the situation escalated to the point that the Seahawks threatened legal action if the accusation went public, arguing that fan-shot video posted online is publicly available material. No team employee had been sent to observe practices.

The matter was ultimately resolved without Payton making any public accusation, and Macdonald indicated the two coaches are on reasonably good terms now. The Seahawks and Broncos are scheduled to face each other in the coming weeks.