Sean Payton's Hilarious Reaction to Maxx Crosby's Trade to Ravens

On Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders traded Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a king's ransom. That's what it costs to acquire a king: a royal ransom.

For years, Crosby was a thorn in the Denver Broncos' side. When Sean Payton first arrived in Denver in 2023, he couldn't quite snap Crosby and the Raiders' dominance over the Broncos, but that all changed when Bo Nix became the quarterback.

FOX Sports' Jay Glazer — a friend and former colleague of Payton's — took to X on Saturday to share a text exchange he had with the Broncos' head coach reacting to the Crosby trade.

"Sean Payton called me soooo fired up the Raiders traded Maxx Crosby and even just texted Maxx saying he’s offering to pay a private plane one-way flight to Baltimore, happy to see him out of the division. Funny," Glazer posted on X. "But also added, 'You are an inspiration to watch and compete against.' Payton has long raved about how Maxx never slows down during games."

Crosby has been hard for the Broncos to handle. He dominated Denver for years before Nix arrived. Once Payton got his quarterback, though, the tide turned heavily orange.

Nix has swept the Raiders in each of his two seasons with the Broncos. And with the Raiders trading Crosby away and signaling a rebuild under first-time head coach Klint Kubiak, that's likely to continue in 2026.

As in any competition, you win some, you lose some. You might get knocked down or out a time or two, but you get up and find a way to get your licks in.

Such was the case between Crosby and Payton. Crosby's Raiders swept the Broncos in 2023, extending their winning streak to eight straight games.

The worm has turned, but that hasn't stopped Crosby from giving it 100% against the Broncos. Nix is a tough quarterback to sack, but Crosby has gotten to him three times in four games.

Nix and Crosby had a fun rivalry going.

When Maxx Crosby gave Bo Nix advice mid-game 🤣

(📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/CGDzSavB4G
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) March 7, 2026

You can see why Payton is happy to see Crosby leave the AFC West. However, Payton paid his respects to Crosby, calling him an "inspiration." And it's not the first time Payton has complimented his AFC West rival.

Last December, Payton explained how Crosby would add an extra hour-and-a-half to the Broncos' game-planning sessions for the Raiders.

"In meetings last week, I said, ‘Well, we’ll run this when he’s off the field,’ and they’re like, ‘Well, he’s never off.’ It’s really remarkable. So then we set run game alerts, Crosby alerts for boots," Payton said on December 12. "I mean, there was a ton of time where we wanted to put him with each play, and I was just letting him know. I said, ‘Man, you were an extra hour and a half each night just with putting a plan together.’ He’s something else.”

Crosby will still be in the AFC, but the Broncos won't have to see him twice a year anymore. The flip-side to that coin is that the Raiders are loading up draft picks.

Vegas is expected to draft National Champion and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick. The Raiders will now have an extra first-rounder this year and one next year from the Crosby trade.

If the ex-Broncos that make up the Raiders' front office get these picks right, Vegas could soon become a problem. But that's a worry for another time and place because it's going to take some time rebuilding that roster and culture.

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