Broncos-Seahawks ‘cold war’ fueled by cheating accusations
Published 11:38 am Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Broncos coach Sean Payton privately accused the Seahawks of cheating during the 2024 season, starting a “Cold War” of sorts in which Seattle threatened a lawsuit, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald revealed in an interview with Graham Bensinger released on Monday.
According to Macdonald, the Seahawks scouted video of roughly 100 plays posted by fans on social media from Broncos training camp practices and used them to prepare for Payton’s team ahead of the 2024 season opener.
“It’s like public knowledge. So we took like 100 plays from their training camp,” Macdonald said with a laugh. The Seahawks won the game, Macdonald’s first as head coach, 26-20.
Macdonald said Payton learned of the Seahawks’ scouting sometime during the 2024 season and accused Seattle of breaking rules, referencing the New England Patriots’ Spygate scandal and the sign-stealing scandal at the University of Michigan, where Macdonald served as defensive coordinator in 2021.
“He got wind of it, and he lost it,” Macdonald said. “He called (Seahawks general manager) John (Schneider). He basically threatened to come out publicly and do a whole Patriot, like Spygate type of thing. And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t cheat.’ He thought it was a Michigan thing, or we had a plant.
“So we had to counter with him to say, ‘Hey, look, if you come out with this, we’re going to sue you, because it’s not true.’ … He backed down, but he was killing John, our GM.”
Eventually the issue was resolved, but not without tension on both sides.
“The season ends, and he let it go,” Macdonald said. “But it was like the Cold War. He’s like, ‘I’m gonna hit the button, I’m gonna hit the button.’ We’re like, ‘Well, we’re gonna hit the button.’ So none of us hit the button.”
The Athletic has reached out to the Broncos for comment and will update this story if they respond.
The Broncos have had reduced capacity at training camp the past two summers because of construction on the team’s new training facility. The limited fans attending training camp since 2025, seated in temporary bleachers, have not been allowed to record any parts of practice. Signage that says “Protect our plays” has been posted, with team security closely monitoring for any violations of the policy.
The Seahawks also do not allow fans to record video during training camp, making specific announcements during certain periods of practice.
