Russell Wilson Calls Out Former Coach Sean Payton For ‘Classless’ Comments amid Ongoing Rivalry

Russell Wilson wasn’t going to let former head coach Sean Payton’s apparent postgame dig fly.

The New York Giants quarterback fired back at his former Denver Broncos head coach on social media, calling him “classless” for telling reporters that he would have rather faced Wilson instead of the team’s red-hot rookie Jaxson Dart.

“Classless… but not surprised…. Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media,” Wilson wrote in a post on X, making reference to the 2012 NFL scandal surrounding Payton paying his players to purposely try and injure opponents during his time as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Wilson was responding to Payton’s comments after the Broncos stormed back to beat the Giants 33-32 on Sunday in one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent NFL history. 

“They found a little spark with that quarterback,” Payton, 61, said about the Giants and Dart, the team’s 22-year-old rookie, who replaced Wilson as the team’s starting quarterback earlier this season. “I was talking to [New York Giants owner] John Mara not too long ago and I said we were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game.”

The ongoing tiff between Wilson and his former coach dates back to the pair’s tumultuous time together in Denver during the 2023 season.

Wilson, who spent 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks, was traded to the Broncos in 2022 while Payton joined the team as its head coach the following year – with Wilson already in place to be the team’s starting quarterback. However with Payton at the helm, Wilson struggled mightily, leading the team to an underwhelming 11-19 record over two seasons.

Payton ultimately benched Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion, during the 2023 season in favor of the team’s now-current starting quarterback Bo Nix. After the season, Denver opted to release Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowler, despite still having to pay him $85 million for the remainder of his contract, according to ESPN.

Wilson later spent the 2024-25 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Giants this past offseason. He was benched earlier this season in favor of Dart, who took over as New York’s starting quarterback last month and has since led the team to a 2-2 record in four starts.

After getting benched by the Giants, Wilson vowed to continue “helping” Dart improve as a young quarterback while also making it clear he still plans to play — whether in New York or elsewhere.

“I’m not done,” Wilson told reporters after he was benched last month, PEOPLE previously reported. “I have so much belief in myself and know what I’m capable of. Life is sometimes a 16-round fight … and sometimes you feel like, in the moment, you are at the end of something heavy. I just believe I’m still in Round 5, Round 6.”

Meanwhile Payton, who was suspended for one year for his role in the 2012 bounty scandal, has found success with his own young quarterback in Nix, who last year led the team to its first playoff appearance since 2015.