Mike Macdonald apologizes to Sean Payton for revealing Spygate-type accusations between Broncos and Seahawks

The rift between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, personified by threats of NFL investigations and counter-threats of a lawsuit by coaches Sean Payton and Mike Macdonald, has been put to bed by an apology.

Macdonald said Wednesday he has apologized to Payton.

But the interesting thing about the whole deal is that the apology came for the fact the exchange between the teams and coaches went public.

And it got out because the Seahawks' coach shared the saga on a podcast without expecting it to get out.

"It's something that I didn't intend for public use but you know, it just felt like it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really just apologize to him for having that end up being public where it wasn't meant to," Macdonald said.

"You're kind of, something that they have to deal with in real time that wasn't really on their end.

So that's really where you're like, 'Crap!'" The reason Macdonald was cursing the situation is because he shared on the " In Depth With Graham Bensigner" podcast the story of Payton and the Broncos wrongfully accusing Macdonald and the Seahawks of cheating in 2024 by using practice video obtained from fans.

Macdonald shared the story not expecting it to be shared.

SEAN PAYTON TAKES VICIOUS SHOT AT FALCONS HOME CROWD AFTER HUMILIATING FIRST HALF But, yes, it was shared.

And because it had Payton threatening to report the Seahawks to the NFL for violating NFL filming rules a la Spygate, and because the Seahawks threatened to sue Payton and the Broncos if he took that step, it went viral.

"It's a lesson learned," Macdonald said.

"You know, honestly, I got to be better in that moment for understanding, like, I'm responsible for what I say, really, no matter the circumstance – whether you're mic'd up, whether or not you have some certain type of understanding.

"So I fell short in that moment ...

It stings for me, frankly, but it's something that I'm definitely going to learn from." The lesson Macdonald will learn is not to share interesting stories expecting confidentiality – especially when the story is as juicy as this one.