Russell Wilson Video Picking Broncos-Chiefs Goes Viral After Sean Payton Saga

Russell Wilson and Sean Payton probably aren't going to be hanging out anytime soon, but the retired quarterback still feels his former head coach is going to get the win Sunday.

"Sean Payton you may like me, you may not but I'm picking you," Wilson said Sunday as part of CBS' pregame coverage ahead of the game between Payton's Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wilson played for Payton's Broncos during the 2023 season, although he did return the following year when Denver decided to release him and still pay the remainder of his salary.

As ESPN's Jordan Raanan noted in 2025, Payton benched Wilson during that 2023 campaign they were together in Denver. He then released the 10-time Pro Bowler even though there was still a head-turning $85 million in dead money remaining on the signal-caller's contract.

"The relationship between coach and quarterback had soured," Raanan wrote at the time while discussing comments Payton made regarding a 2025 meeting between the Broncos and New York Giants. "It does not appear to have been repaired."

Wilson was on the Giants at the time, but the NFC East team decided to make the switch to Jaxson Dart during the season.

"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 change would've happened long after our game," Payton said.

That remark drew quite the response from Wilson, who even mentioned the Bountygate scandal that ended in Payton's suspension for the 2012 season:

Wilson discussed his social media post in March during an appearance on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast (h/t Grant Gordon of NFL.com) and said, "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."

Payton and Wilson may not be best friends, but the coach can at least take solace knowing the quarterback-turned-analyst believes his team will pick up a key win on Sunday.

Kansas City is in first place in the AFC West at 5-1 and just ahead of the 5-2 Broncos. The winner will be in first place near the halfway mark of the season and have an important divisional victory as well.