MIKE MACDONALD DETAILS SEAN PAYTON'S CHEATING ACCUSATION

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has revealed that his side's Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos in 2024 almost led to a legal dispute with Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Speaking on the podcast In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Macdonald said the 26-20 victory, his first as an NFL head coach, followed a scouting effort that Payton later treated as a cheating scandal. Payton contacted Seattle general manager John Schneider during the 2024 season to raise the allegation. Macdonald said the Seahawks denied wrongdoing and warned Payton of legal action if he made the claim public.

Macdonald said Seattle's scouting staff gathered close to 100 plays from Broncos training camp sessions that fans had filmed and posted online before the Week 1 fixture. Payton believed the Seahawks had used a "plant" to obtain the footage, comparing it to a sign-stealing case involving the University of Michigan, and threatened to publicly accuse Seattle of cheating in a manner similar to the NFL's 2007 "Spygate" case involving the New England Patriots. Macdonald said he told Schneider the accusation was false. Sporting News journalist Matt Sullivan said the footage came from public training camp sessions and did not breach NFL policy, as fans are permitted to film and post such videos under current league rules.

Macdonald said Payton did not go public with the accusation. He said Payton instead continued to raise the matter privately with Schneider, repeatedly criticising the general manager over the episode. Yahoo Sports reported that the episode reflects a wider practice of NFL coaches using fan-recorded footage as a scouting tool. Macdonald made the comments during an interview about his first season as Seahawks head coach.