Sean Payton left Thursday night with an overtime victory. By Friday, a brief pregame greeting was getting its own replay treatment.
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The Broncos coach was filmed giving broadcaster Charissa Thompson a kiss on the cheek before Denver's 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The exchange appeared to be a greeting or goodbye around a short sideline interview, according to the California Post.
That didn't stop the clip from taking off online.
The account MLFootball shared the video on X with an all-caps caption declaring that Payton had been "caught kissing" Thompson. The post had drawn more than 500,000 views by the time the Post published its report.
Plenty of commenters, however, saw a familiar interaction between two adults who already knew each other. Payton and Thompson previously worked together on Fox's "NFL Kickoff," a connection that helped explain the friendly exchange.
The video showed a kiss on the cheek, with nothing in the report establishing that it was anything beyond a cordial greeting.
🚨🚨TRENDING🚨🚨#BRONCOS HC SEAN PAYTON WAS CAUGHT KISSING REPORTER CHARISSA THOMPSON ON THE FIELD BEFORE THE GAME.
💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/9zJCDUBXtt
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) October 16, 2026
Payton has been married to Skylene Montgomery since 2021. Thompson, who hosts Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" pregame coverage, has been dating businessman Steven Cundari since 2022.
On the field, Denver gave its fans something more substantial to celebrate. The Broncos outlasted the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks in overtime, securing a three-point victory.
Still, the sideline clip found an audience of its own, complete with an attention-grabbing caption and commenters debating whether there was anything worth debating.
Payton needed overtime to beat Seattle. The internet needed only a few seconds of his pregame routine to get going.
