Sean Payton’s name still carries plenty of baggage, and for Raiders fans, the latest wrinkle only makes things more uncomfortable.
Payton went from being a New Orleans hero after guiding the Saints through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to a national champion when he helped knock off Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. But that image took a major hit in 2012, when it was uncovered that he had, at minimum, covered up and lied to the NFL about a bounty system installed by Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. New Orleans was paying players to hurt opponents, and Payton was not clean in that mess.
He was suspended for the entire 2012 season, then returned and coached the Saints for nearly another decade before landing in Denver in 2023, where he became the Raiders’ problem again as the Broncos’ head coach.
That history is why one detail from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham stood out so sharply in his deep dive on Denver’s playoff run last season. Wickersham wrote that Payton is always searching for an edge, and sometimes that means calling a very familiar name: Raiders minority owner Tom Brady.
“He also picks the brain of any coach, regardless of sport or level, for insight. At home, he binges shows, both to quiet his mind and to find something worth drawing from. On the drive to work, he'll call Tom Brady, or John Elway, or Wayne Gretzky, or even people like me for crying out loud, hoping casual conversation brings inspiration.”
Brady is not being accused of handing over anything sensitive about the Silver and Black, and there’s no indication he even knows Payton has a competitive motive behind those calls. Still, it’s a strange enough setup to raise eyebrows: a rival coach dialing up a Raiders minority owner during the season.
The timeline matters, too. Brady’s playing career ended in 2022, so this is not a case of Payton chatting with an active player in the middle of the week.
Payton also wasn’t coaching in 2022. He took the Broncos job in late January of 2023, while Brady and his group agreed to buy a minority stake in the Raiders in May of 2023.
That deal became official in October 2024.
So there’s not much overlap here where a conflict of interest would have been possible. Brady likely sees it as just another call among many he takes from prominent people. If he understood he was helping the Broncos, he’d probably shut it down.
Even so, it’s hard not to look at the whole thing and feel uneasy about Payton’s methods. After the bounty scandal, the idea of him leaning on a friendship with Brady for any kind of competitive benefit is not exactly comforting for Raiders fans.
I wouldn’t put it past Payton. And I don’t love that the two are on the phone in season.
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