Russell Wilson Rips ‘Classless’ Sean Payton For Unnecessarily Throwing Shade At Him

Russell Wilson was the talk of the football world when the Seattle Seahawks traded him away to the Denver Broncos. Then, when they hired Sean Payton to coach the team, there was hope that he would help rejuvenate the QB’s career.

That did not happen. Instead, videos of the head coach’s fiery confrontations dominated social media and also conversations about the state of their relationship.

Soon, the franchise decided they were better off without the narratives and promptly released him. They did not mind eating the $85 million dead cap they would have to digest, the largest in NFL history.

The problem with that divorce was that Payton and the Broncos moved on with rookie Bo Nix, and have been successful so far. On the other hand, Russell Wilson’s situation has not improved, and he now finds himself backing up rookie Jaxson Dart on the New York Giants.

The Broncos head coach, while talking to the media after their last-second victory against the Giants, threw a thinly veiled dart at his former quarterback.

They found a little spark with that quarterback. I was talking to John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would’ve happened long after our game.’

Sean Payton told reporters

Sean Payton talks about the Giants' organization and his respect for the Mara and Tisch families:

"They found a little spark with that quarterback. I was talking to John Mara not too long ago and I said, 'we were hoping that that change would've happened long after our game.'" pic.twitter.com/Zk7TVXs1xY

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 20, 2025

Essentially, he was suggesting that he had hoped the Giants did not change from Russell Wilson to Dart until their Week 7 clash. That means he would have been more confident about his Broncos’ chances facing a QB he believed was not good enough.

Russell Wilson breaks character and lashes out at Sean Payton

During those heated times, Russell Wilson stayed true to his professional self and never said anything detrimental to his former head coach or the Denver Broncos.

He has remained true to his character even after being benched both with the Broncos and the Giants. Always considered the consummate professional, the 36-year-old’s next tweet sent social media buzzing.

Classless… but not surprised…. Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media.

Russell Wilson wrote on X

This tweet has amassed 20 million views along with thousands of comments and reactions in the past few hours. No one expected the Super Bowl champion quarterback to clap back at his former head coach in this manner.

Classless… but not surprised….
Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media. 😎😂 #LetsRide 🤣

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) October 21, 2025

Bringing up bounty-gate to shut Payton down for good was both unexpected and clever, as there is no way the Broncos head coach can reply to this without stoking more controversy.

Ryan Clark believes Sean Payton is showing his racist side with Russell Wilson jibe

Now that this indirect back-and-forth between Sean Payton and Russell Wilson has engulfed football, it has drawn comments and reactions from many. ESPN’s Ryan Clark decided to talk about it, and he took a route he is often known to follow.

This man has chosen over and over again to totally dismiss professionalism when it comes to Russell Wilson. Yet show a level of restraint and respect, and professionalism in other situations. You never saw that with Drew Brees. You’ve seen Bo Nix, on multiple occasions, get face-to-face with him, cuss him out, scream at him, disrespect him, and he shows the patience of a 4-time father with their youngest child.

Ryan Clark said on X

The former safety seemingly points fingers at Payton’s apparent racism, wherein he goes out to belittle a black quarterback, but allows white QBs to jaw with him.

Bout time Russ clapped back. Sean Payton 100% intentionally meant to disrespect Russ in his post game interview. It would have been simple to just compliment Jaxson Dart, but instead he took aim at Russ.

It’s personal & it’s been that way. He never treated Bo Nix or Drew Brees… pic.twitter.com/kKPcL3Pkjk

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 22, 2025

Ryan Clark lauded Wilson for writing that on X and believes the media should hold the Broncos’ head coach accountable for his actions and words.

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