Mike Macdonald vs Sean Payton is turning into the NFL fight of the year.Despite Macdonald potentially being unaware that he was battling Payton in public.Mike Macdonald, right, is in the middle of a battle with Sean PaytonAFP“He (Payton) basically threatened to come out publicly and do a whole Patriot Spygate type of thing,” Macdonald said on camera on In Depth with Graham Bensinger.“I’m sitting there like, ‘Oh my god. We didn’t cheat.’ They thought it was a Michigan thing where we had a plant and the whole thing. So we had to counter with him and say, ‘If you come out with this, we’re going to sue you because it’s not true.’ “Macdonald is the head coach of the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks.Payton is the HC of reigning AFC West champion Denver Broncos, and previously coached the New Orleans Saints to a world championship in 2009.Throw in a tense ‘Cold War’ mention, accusations of cheating, and a reference to a Spygate scandal that led to Tom Brady being suspended four games, and the NFL woke up on Wednesday morning to a brewing mess that sets up a fascinating nationally televised Week 6 showdown between the Seahawks and Broncos.“He basically called Sean Payton a b**** LMAO,” one fan tweeted. “This was 100% off the record lol.”“No one likes Sean Payton,” a second fan wrote. “I love Mike Macdonald more and more each day,” a third fan posted. “I have never heard Mike talk like this about ANYONE,” a fourth fan said. “He HATES Payton lmao.”The controversy dates back to 2024, which was Macdonald’s rookie season as the Seahawks’ coach.Macdonald and Sean Payton aren’t best friends after a video controversygettyPayton is trying to get more out of Bo Nix at QBGettyView Tweet: https://x.com/GrahamBensinger?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHe was proving himself after leaving the Baltimore Ravens and John Harbaugh, and following 2013 Super Bowl winner Pete Carroll in Seattle.Macdonald’s Seahawks used fan videos posted to social media that featured footage taken of Broncos practices. NFL teams heavily limit media members’ photography and video usage during practices, and have increasingly restricted the windows to warmup sessions.But fans are often allowed to film throughout open training camp practices, and the videos can then be freely posted on social media platforms. Seattle won Macdonald’s first game 26-20 vs Denver. When Payton learned that fan videos of Broncos practices had been used to help the Seahawks prepare, the fiery coach ‘lost it.’NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?“It was like the Cold War,” Macdonald said. “He’s like, ‘I’m going to hit the button. I’m going to hit the button.’ ‘Well, we’re going to hit the button.’ None of us hit the button.”It’s unclear if Macdonald fully understood that his tell-all relating to Payton would be made public — video footage shows a relaxed situation and was shot from a distance. It’s been obvious for years that the NFL has a practice-viewing problem.Unfortunately, the easiest fix is to force fans to deal with the same recording restrictions that the media is saddled with daily.There’s no reason that a devoted Broncos supporter should unknowingly give the Seahawks an in-game advantage that potentially leads to a regular-season victory. Join talkSPORT’s dedicated US Sports YouTube channel The S* Word every Tuesday and Thursday for our brand new NFL shows.On Tuesdays, Will Gavin and US senior reporter Brian T. Smith will debate the biggest talking points from the NFL weekend. On Thursdays, Efe Obada joins the crew to talk to players past and present and break down what to look for across the league.