LONDON — Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton reunited with his former Leicester Panthers teammates after practice Thursday at Hanbury Manor in Ware, a town outside of London.
In 1988, Payton was recruited by the Panthers, an American football team in the UK, to play quarterback.
"There weren't many Americans; we were treated great," Payton said. "I remember a lot about that season and made some great friends."
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David Hagger, former tight end and backup quarterback, said Payton was very talented and had high expectations for the team.
"Quite an intense quarterback, and if you didn't do it right and do it Sean's way, you were sat on the bench," Hagger said with a laugh. "The training was slightly different because we had jobs and he (Payton) was basically doing gym work in the morning, playing a bit of golf in the afternoon, prepping for practice, then we all practiced in the evening."
Rex Harrison, former Panthers wide receiver and kicker, said the team trained three nights a week in the gym and practiced twice a week in the evening.
"It was a full-on sport, semi-professional, played by guys of any age from 22 to 35. It was a very interesting time," Harrison said. "Sean was a head above anything we'd had previously. He brought that professionalism too, and we stayed with that for the next 10 years until we finally won the British championship."
Former Panther Danny Walker said it was great to see Payton again after all of these years.
"It's good to follow his career because he kind of started with us," Walker said.
Pat Joseph, a founding member of the team, said he, too, has followed Payton's career.
"Really good, especially to see where Sean is now, and the other guys that we drafted across from the States helped us run the club as well," Joseph said.
The Walter-Penner Family Ownership Group donated new helmets and shoulder pads to the Leicester Panthers youth team as part of the Broncos ALL IN. ALL COVERED program.
"This helps us out so much because the sport, it's not got loads of money in the sport, and it's one of those, especially in England, a niche sport, it's not taught in schools. And to have such a help like that, it helps the team out massively," said Sam Wood, Leicester Panther wide receiver.
Wood, who met Payton for the first time on Thursday, said his legacy lives on throughout the team.
"When you look at the Panthers as a team as a club, he's one of those you look at the history and you're like, 'Wow, he was on our team. He's played in our colors,'" Wood said. "We're lucky to have that, we're a blessed team to have that."
Payton's former teammates said he gave them tickets to Sunday's game, and they plan to attend to cheer on the Broncos.
