The Denver Broncos coach, Sean Payton, was expecting to face his former quarterback, Russell Wilson, in the recent game against the New York Giants. However, instead he found himself facing rookie Jaxson Dart. This situation caught Wilson’s attention.
Wilson responded to Payton’s comments after Sunday’s game, in which the Broncos won 33-32 with an exciting comeback in the final quarter. Payton had expressed his respect for the Giants organization and mentioned that he hoped the quarterback change, referring to Wilson’s replacement by Dart, would occur after the meeting. This comment seemed to bother Wilson, who is usually reserved. Wilson used the term “bounty hunting” in reference to his former coach, alluding to a scandal in which Payton was involved with the New Orleans Saints between 2009 and 2011, related to a bounty program led by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. As a result of this scandal, Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season without pay. Dart became the Giants’ starting quarterback last month, following Wilson’s benching after three games. The rookie revitalized New York’s offense, scoring four touchdowns on Sunday (three passing, one rushing). For Wilson, it was a kind of homecoming, as he was a substitute for the Giants. Before the match, he took time to sign shirts and souvenirs on the field for Broncos and Giants fans. Wilson was traded by the Seattle Seahawks to the Broncos in 2022, but his time in Denver ended abruptly the following season, when Payton benched him in 2023 and he was ultimately released in the 2024 offseason, despite having $85 million in dead money. The relationship between the coach and the quarterback had deteriorated. The Broncos had an 11-19 record in games Wilson started over two seasons and failed to make the playoffs. Some of Wilson’s resentment toward Payton might stem from Wilson’s claim that the Broncos had threatened to bench him early in the 2023 season if Wilson didn’t waive an injury guarantee in his contract. At the time, Wilson was guaranteed $37 million (his 2025 salary) if he couldn’t pass a physical on the fifth day of the new league year in March 2024. After Wilson’s release, Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner denied that the team had threatened to bench Wilson over the guarantee and that they had tried to negotiate “in good faith” about any possible contractual adjustments. At that time, Wilson said the NFLPA “got involved” and the NFLPA sent a letter to the Broncos stating that any such threat would be a violation of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.“Classless… but not surprised…. I didn’t realize you were still bounty hunting more than 15 years later through the media,” Wilson wrote on X, followed by some laughing emojis and the hashtag #LetsRide, a motto he used at the end of his press conferences while a member of the 2022-23 Broncos.
Russell Wilson
