Russell Wilson didn’t need many words to get his point across on CBS Sports’ pregame show Sunday.
While making his pick for Broncos-Chiefs, the former Denver quarterback went with his old team and slipped in a little shot at Sean Payton along the way.
"I'm riding with the Denver Broncos," Wilson said. "Sean Payton, you may like me; you may not. But I'm picking you."
It was a playful line, but it landed because of everything that came before it. Wilson’s run in Denver never matched the expectations that followed his arrival, and the relationship with Payton clearly never settled into anything close to smooth.
The Broncos went 4-11 in 2022, then Payton benched Wilson at the end of the 2023 season. That stretch helped push Wilson out of Denver, even with the huge cap hit attached to his departure.
The tension between the two has surfaced before. In 2025, Payton made a remark after the Broncos played the Giants - Wilson’s team at the time - saying he had told Giants officials he hoped to face Wilson instead of Jaxson Dart. Payton later said he didn’t mean to criticize Wilson, per ESPN, but Wilson fired back on X and called his former coach “classless.”
In that same post, Wilson also brought up Payton’s former “BountyGate” scandal.
Classless… but not surprised…. Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media. 😎😂 #LetsRide 🤣
Wilson later addressed the feud more directly on the "Bussin' With the Boys" podcast in March 2026, saying he wasn’t interested in swallowing disrespect.
“[When] you’ve been on the same side or this and that and I got the same amount of rings as you got, meaning Sean, right?” Wilson said on the "Bussin' With the Boys" podcast in March 2026.
“I got a lot of respect for him as a play-caller, this and that, but to take a shot, I don’t like. I don’t think it’s necessary, you know, I mean, especially when I’m not even on your own team anymore.
So, for me, there’s a point in time where you have to, I’ve realized, I’ve stayed quiet for so long. There’s a there’s a time and place where I’m not.
“I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, too and you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been on the same place and the same thing.
And so, it’s not a matter of disrespect. Just don’t disrespect me.”
Now 37, Wilson has moved on from playing and into broadcasting. He chose that path this offseason instead of taking a backup role, including the possibility of joining the Jets. On CBS Sports, he has settled in quickly, and on Sunday he used that platform to back Denver while keeping the Payton edge intact.
Payton, meanwhile, is still in charge in Denver in his fourth year with the Broncos.
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