Seahawks' Macdonald apologizes to Broncos' Payton for comments - ESPN

RENTON, Wash. — Calling it a «lesson learned,» Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday that his recently surfaced comments about a 2024 dispute he had with Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton were not meant for public consumption.

Macdonald, speaking to reporters a day after a clip of his comments on «In Depth With Graham Bensinger» began making the rounds on X, said he apologized to Payton

«It's something that I didn't intend for public use,» Macdonald said. «But I felt like it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really just apologize to him for having that end up be public where it wasn't meant to. It's something that they have to deal with in real time. It wasn't really on their end. So that's where you're really like, 'Crap.' But it's a lesson learned, honestly.»

The dispute related to Payton's 2024 accusation that Seattle cheated while preparing to face the Broncos in that season's opener, which Macdonald revealed during his conversation with Bensinger. In one clip, Macdonald references a mistaken belief on Denver's part that the Seahawks had a «plant» at Broncos training camp who was filming the team's plays, but he said they actually saw the plays — and used them in their game prep — from what fans who had attended open practices had posted to X.

Macdonald's interview with Bensinger took place over the summer and was published on YouTube last week. Macdonald answered in the affirmative when asked Wednesday if he made his comments about the Broncos saga while speaking casually with Bensinger, before he thought the cameras were rolling.

'I've got to be better in that moment [in] understanding, look, I'm responsible for what I say really no matter the circumstance, whether you're miked