Sean Payton is regarded as one of the greatest offensive minds in the NFL. He guided QB Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints to their only Super Bowl title and helped his signal-caller break numerous all-time QB records. However, he decided to step away from the game, only to be ushered back into the fray when the Denver Broncos traded for the right to the veteran coach.
Coach trades in the NFL are rare, but the Broncos wanted to make a change at the top of their organization and didn’t mind paying draft compensation to acquire the right guy. Payton was no longer the coach of the Saints, but New Orleans still held his rights, so the two teams came to an agreement that would send the Super Bowl-winning head coach to Mile High.
A Closer Look at the Sean Payton Trade Details
Let’s look at what the Saints received in the Payton trade.
The Saints received:
- 2023 first-round pick (Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson Tigers)
- 2024 second-round pick (Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama)
The Broncos received:
- HC Sean Payton
- 2024 third-round pick (Jonah Eliss, EDGE, Utah)
Why Did New Orleans Trade Payton?
When the Payton trade happened, the head coach had stepped away from the Saints the previous season. New Orleans had moved on, promoting defensive coordinator Dennis Allen into the role.
Payton left on his own and not as a direct cause of any one thing or a decision made by the team or organization. He announced his departure during a press conference in 2022.
“I felt like it was time maybe heading into training camp,” he said. “I felt the time was right for me.”
“Retirement, I don’t think is the right word today,” Payton said. “I don’t know what’s next, and it kind of feels good.”
Well, what was next was a short-lived career in broadcasting. However, in 2023, while also fulfilling his role on FOX, Payton had begun interviewing for head coaching roles. Ultimately, Denver decided to fork up the compensation required from the Saints to be able to hire Payton.
Payton’s Rocky Start In Denver With Russell Wilson
The Broncos acquired quarterback Russell Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in a blockbuster trade during the 2022 offseason. Denver hoped Wilson, then considered one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, would help the franchise return to AFC contention.
But Wilson disappointed in his first season with the Broncos, completing just 60.5% of his passes for 3,524 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 11 interceptions in 15 games. Financially tied to the aging quarterback, the Broncos hired Payton in 2023 hoping he could help get Wilson back on track.
Wilson posted better box-score stats in 2023 — 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions — but his arm strength, mobility, and decision-making showed obvious decline. He was benched late in the campaign before being cut during the offseason.
The Future with Bo Nix
Sean Payton’s partnership with Bo Nix began when the Broncos selected the Oregon product with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, making him the first rookie quarterback to start Week 1 for Denver since John Elway. Despite a rocky start that included back-to-back interceptions in his first two games, Nix quickly found his footing under Payton’s demanding system, completing 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while adding 430 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
His 34 total offensive touchdowns ranked third-most in NFL history for a rookie, and he helped end Denver’s eight-year playoff drought with a 10-7 record—a remarkable turnaround for a franchise that had cycled through 14 starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning.
In his second season, Nix became the first NFL quarterback ever to win 20-plus games while passing for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns in his first two seasons. In 2025, Nix completed 388 of 612 passes for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a passer rating of 87.8—numbers that, while not elite, were good enough to guide Denver to the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Payton has consistently defended his quarterback through mid-season slumps and external criticism, publicly stating he believes Nix will become a top-four or top-five quarterback in the NFL.
The coach invested heavily in protecting his young signal-caller, building one of the league’s highest-paid offensive lines, which led the NFL in both pass block and run block win rate. Now, with 23 wins under his belt and a divisional round matchup against Buffalo awaiting, the Payton-Nix partnership faces its biggest test yet—but the foundation they’ve built suggests their best football may still be ahead.
