Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson said Friday that the team had threatened in October to bench him if he did not agree to renegotiate his contract.

Wilson told reporters that Broncos officials approached him during the team’s bye week and told him ‘if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched for the rest of the year.’

Wilson’s $37 million salary for 2025 is guaranteed if he remains on the roster in mid-March, and an injury in the final weeks of the season would complicate the Broncos’ ability to move him. Denver announced earlier this week that the 35-year-old had been benched for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

‘I was definitely disappointed about it,’ Wilson told reporters about the bye week conversation. ‘It was a process throughout the whole week, whole bye week. We just came off beating the Chiefs, played a pretty good game against the Chiefs, we just came off of that. So I was excited obviously for us, fighting for the playoffs and getting on a hot streak.’

Wilson added that the NFL Players’ Association and NFL ‘got involved’ at some point. The NFL declined comment and a spokesperson for the union did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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‘For me, I came here to play here, to win,’ Wilson added. ‘I knew it was going to be a process. I signed a seven-year deal, for us to go and play hard. … I want to be here, I want to play here, I want to win championships here.’

Multiple outlets reported that the Broncos had approached Wilson about revising his contract. When asked about the reports earlier Friday, Broncos coach Sean Payton demurred, saying in part that ‘I’m not privy to any of those (conversations).’

‘I’m handling the football,’ Payton said. ‘That’s something (Broncos GM) George (Paton) and the front office (handle). I’m not involved in any of that.’

Payton has previously portrayed Wilson’s benching as an attempt to give the offense a spark, while acknowledging that ‘there are economics and all those other things’ in the game nowadays. Backup Jarrett Stidham will start Sunday, with Wilson as the backup.

A nine-time Pro Bowl honoree with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson signed a five-year, $242.6 million extension with Denver after being traded there in March 2022. He struggled in his first year with the Broncos but has been more solid in 2023, completing 66.4 percent of his passes with 26 touchdowns and eight picks.

LOS ANGELES — When Rose Bowl week began, nobody could have anticipated that an Australian sports technology company named Catapult would become a key player in the pregame drama.

It began on Thursday, when Alabama’s players let something slip that was not likely intended for public consumption: Heading into the College Football Playoff semifinals against Michigan, players were not allowed to review practice film on their individual iPads because of security concerns related to the server where Catapult stores and distributes the footage. 

Alabama’s players suggested that the concerns were related to the Michigan sign-stealing scandal that captured the nation’s attention earlier this season. 

The next twist came on Friday morning, when Michigan players said they had also stopped getting film to players individually through Catapult but had actually made the change in November. 

“Just caught wind of things that could be going on,” Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore said. “And just told our kids, hey, we’re not watching stuff on the iPads anymore. Watch it in-house and handle it that way.” 

If that wasn’t intriguing enough, Catapult then issued a statement that was first obtained by For The Win and then distributed to other media outlets, raising the specter of NCAA and police involvement.

“We are aware of the ongoing investigation of the alleged unauthorized access to NCAA football video footage,” the statement read. “We have conducted an internal investigation and have not found any security breach in our systems. We have shared this with local authorities that are conducting an investigation. We will continue to support the ongoing investigation with the NCAA and local authorities. At Catapult, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and safeguarding customer information is of utmost importance to us.” 

Yahoo! Sports subsequently reported, according to unnamed sources, that the investigation is centered on “at least one other school” but not Michigan. 

Much of this story is still vague and developing, but here’s what we know so far. 

Why is Catapult important?

Founded in 2006, Catapult has become a worldwide company that provides performance-monitoring data and video analysis across a variety of sports. Among the high-profile clients they advertise on their website are the Kansas City Chiefs, Golden State Warriors, Duke, UConn and a number of European soccer clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. 

Catapult does not advertise how many college football programs use its service, but it is known to be widespread. The big benefit is that players can watch the film of every practice on their own time. 

“At home, if I’m chilling or getting some recovery in, I pop on some film and do 30 minutes at a time, 45 minutes at a time, whatever it might be,” Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham said.

Now, apparently both Michigan and Alabama are instead reviewing the film within the building instead of having it sent to iPads so that it’s not stored on the server and potentially hack-able. 

Why is everybody so paranoid? 

Well, college coaches are paranoid about secrets getting out and have become increasingly more worried about espionage over the years.

There was actually a nugget from an ESPN all-access piece in 2016 detailing how some apartment complexes near Alabama’s campus had balconies with a view of the practice field. One of the complexes had actually written into leases that people who rented certain apartments were not allowed to be outside watching practice. 

That’s how seriously some coaches take the threat of opposing teams spying on their practices. It’s not just a college football issue, either. Recently, USA TODAY Sports did a story as part of a 10-part series about cheating in sports that focused on college basketball and the long history of coaches being worried that their shootarounds at road venues were being monitored by secret cameras.

Of course, the Michigan sign-stealing scandal only heightened those suspicions — especially when it comes to Michigan. Though Connor Stalions hasn’t been part of the program since the allegations first became public in October, it makes sense that Alabama would take every precaution. 

It’s worth noting that unsubstantiated rumors of hacking to gain information — directed not just at Michigan but several other programs — have been floating around the college football world and internet message boards for several weeks. 

It’s unclear whether there’s anything to it, or whether everyone is being overly cautious based on innuendo. And it’s worth noting once again that Catapult says there’s no evidence of a data breach in its system. We’ll have to wait and see what, if anything, the local authorities and/or the NCAA eventually find in their investigations. 

Does any of this matter? 

A good old spy scandal always gets people going, but the reality is that this will have no impact on the Rose Bowl or any other postseason game. Privacy is always at the top of mind for college football teams, and nobody would have known about any of this drama if not for some Alabama players being honest when asked by reporters if they were doing anything differently in their preparation due to the Michigan sign-stealing scandal. 

What it does highlight, though, is that teams do need to be careful when putting proprietary information like game plans and practice film on a server that might be compromised either through illegal means like hacking or just somebody sharing a password. 

Keep in mind, players are constantly coming in and out of programs now — even at this time of year — due to the transfer portal. 

The Baltimore Ravens will honor former running back Ray Rice during Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, the team announced.

The team says they will honor Rice as their “Legend of the Game,” which recognizes a former player for their accomplishments both on and away from the field.

Rice played six seasons for the Ravens, from 2008-2013, and was a key part of Baltimore’s Super Bowl-winning team in 2013.

Rice rushed for 6,180 yards and scored 70 touchdowns and also caught 369 passes for 3,064 yards in his career.

His career ended after he was suspended by the NFL in September 2014 after a video posted by TMZ.com showed Rice hitting his then then-fiancee in an Atlantic City elevator on Feb. 15, 2014.

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‘He was also consistently in the community, giving back. Importantly, after Ray’s incident he owned it. On his own accord, Ray undertook critical work within himself and to bring awareness to and educate others on domestic violence,’ Ravens president Sashi Brown said. ‘Nothing will change his past or make it right, but Ray’s work has allowed him to atone for his actions and rebuild relationships personally and professionally, including with the Ravens.’

Since then, Rice has been involved in domestic violence awareness groups and coaches youth football. He and his wife now have two kids together.

‘I knew it would be hard to forgive me, but the one thing I have been consistent with was that I was going to be better. I’m not going to be a victim of my past,’ Rice said, via the team’s website. ‘My legacy won’t be domestic violence. My legacy will be what I became after.’

A sexual harassment complaint at Michigan State University – which led to the firing of Mel Tucker, one of college football’s top coaches – first went public because the woman behind it learned that details about her case had circulated among local media. 

Three months after Tucker’s ouster, an outside law firm hired by the school concluded it couldn’t determine whether any university officials were responsible for leaking those details. 

But investigators said one member of the university’s board of trustees wouldn’t cooperate with their inquiry and withheld relevant information. They also said a subsequent email in the case was indeed leaked, by someone in a small circle of high-ranking officials.

The investigative report, released Friday, is the latest development in the case of rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy. Tracy’s allegations that Tucker harassed her were first publicly reported in a USA TODAY investigation earlier this year. 

She said that after hiring her to speak to the football team about sexual violence, Tucker masturbated during an April 2022 phone call with her and made sexual comments and overtures toward her.

The university fired him for cause in September, three weeks after USA TODAY’s investigation, canceling the roughly $80 million left on his 10-year contract. In October, an outside attorney hired by the university found Tucker responsible for sexual harassment and exploitation. Tucker has appealed the ruling, and a final decision is due in early January.

Athletic director Alan Haller and other MSU officials said they knew a complaint had been filed against Tucker but did not know the details until reading them in the news. Only the school’s Title IX office was supposed to know details about the case – a best practice the university adopted to prevent school leaders from attempting to influence the outcome. 

Tracy and her attorney alleged details of her complaint had been improperly leaked by the MSU Board. MSU then hired an outside law firm, Jones Day, to investigate.

“Ms. Tracy is not surprised that MSU’s internal investigation failed to definitively identify the leak,” her attorney, Karen Truszkowski, said in a statement after the 13-page investigative report was released Friday. “Clearly there is a leak. We look forward to conducting a thorough, independent investigation to identify the source.”

Brenda Tracy’s sexual harassment case

Tracy filed a complaint against Tucker with the school’s Title IX office in December 2022 and first told USA TODAY about the case in May. At the time, she said she planned to go public with her story after the case ended. 

In early September, USA TODAY Network reporters in Michigan heard Tracy’s name and specific details about the case.  Without identifying those sources, USA TODAY relayed the information to Tracy, who gave consent to publish her story. 

Shortly after USA TODAY’s report Sept. 10, Tracy’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski, emailed the school’s general counsel accusing someone on the Board of leaking Tracy’s name to people outside MSU. 

That email also became a focus of Jones Day’s investigation. Investigators wrote that they were confident that one of 13 people within MSU’s board or administration leaked Truszkowski’s email to a reporter at The State News, the college’s student-run newspaper, but were unable to identify the culprit.

The rest of the investigation focused on the university trustees and others who might have had access to the confidential complaint. It noted that only one person, trustee Dennis Denno, did not cooperate. 

Investigating leaks in Mel Tucker case 

Denno was the only one of eight trustees who declined to be interviewed by investigators or turn over his phone for review. Investigators said that while they did not have reason to believe Denno’s phone could prove a trustee leaked Tracy’s identity, they believe it may contain evidence that a person outside MSU, ‘Individual A,’ knew details of the case before they became public. But Denno and Individual A both refused multiple interview requests, the report said.

Denno did not return a voicemail and text message seeking comment Friday. 

“Maintaining privacy during our relationship violence and sexual misconduct investigations are of utmost importance, and we take this commitment very seriously,” said Michigan State Interim President Teresa Woodruff in a press release. “It is disappointing to learn that a potential breach occurred and while no source was identified, we understand the importance of trust and are committed to working with integrity in each case.”

At a Board meeting this month, Vassar said she was ‘gratified’ Jones Day’s investigation had ‘exonerated her.’

“The Board of Trustees takes OIE investigations seriously and this report demonstrates the Board’s commitment to privacy that is essential to that process,” Vassar said in Friday’s press release.

Jones Day investigators reviewed emails, text messages and photos on seven of the eight trustees’ phones and found no documentary evidence associating any of them with the alleged leaks. Investigators interviewed 52 witnesses, including three dozen university employees who all denied sharing confidential information about the harassment case with anyone outside the university, except some of their spouses. 

The investigation found that at least 44 people associated with Michigan State were aware of the investigation into its football coach, including all eight trustees. Most knew because it related to their job duties. MSU general counsel Brian Quinn also disclosed ‘general information’ about the complaint against Tucker to all eight trustees, the report says, but did not provide Tracy’s name or factual details of her allegations.

Tracy told select reporters at USA TODAY and ESPN about the case, as well as a sports columnist in Oregon, the report confirmed. Other reporters told Jones Day investigators they had deduced Tracy’s identity without anyone providing her name based on the details they had learned.

Jones Day’s investigation did not “exonerate” the university, said Truszkowski, Tracy’s attorney – it “simply could not prove the source of the leak by a preponderance of the evidence.” 

“This is not a surprise considering that Trustee Denno refused to cooperate with the investigation,” Truszkowksi said. 

Jones Day’s report says it will reopen its investigation if new information comes to light.

Kenny Jacoby is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY covering sexual harassment and violence and Title IX. Contact him by email at kjacoby@usatoday.com or follow him on X@kennyjacoby.