Cardinals Owner Michael Bidwill Confirms Saints Asked Too Much for Sean Payton

The Arizona Cardinals wanted Sean Payton. The New Orleans Saints wanted too much, says owner Michael Bidwill.

The Arizona Cardinals are fairly happy with their new hire in Jonathan Gannon, though he wasn't exactly the sexiest name in the coaching market.

Gannon was also the last candidate to interview with Arizona, spending the following two days with the Cardinals before inking a deal to replace Kliff Kingsbury. 

Arizona is adamant they were never going to make a decision before speaking with Gannon, yet the Cardinals undoubtedly kicked the tires on former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, who had an extensive interview with owner Michael Bidwill at the team's facility in Tempe. 

Despite interest from both sides, the Cardinals walked away empty handed after the Denver Broncos met New Orleans' expectations of premium draft capital which featured a first-round pick this year and second-round pick next year for Payton and a third-rounder. 

Bidwill - who appeared on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM this morning - said the price was simply too high to get Payton out of his contract with New Orleans. 

“It was all the compensation, the draft compensation,” Bidwill said (h/t Tyler Drake). “We just weren’t willing to go with what the Saints wanted us to give up. It would have been too costly to the team for us to rebuild that roster. It was really a series of tradeoffs. I still felt like we got great coaches out there who could get this team turned around.

“It would have been too costly to the team for us to rebuild that roster. It was really a series of tradeoffs. I still felt like we got great coaches out there who could get this team turned around and I think we were right when you look at (new Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon).”

Full video:

Owner Michael Bidwill said the Saints' trade demands for the Cardinals to potentially hire Sean Payton led them away from Payton as a candidate.

Bidwill is joining @Bickley_Marotta for Newsmakers Week this morning. pic.twitter.com/vV3EglJsSx

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 23, 2023

On top of the high draft picks, Bidwill also would have had to pay Payton $18 million per season.

All in all, the price was just too much for Bidwill. Most Cardinals fans seem to agree. 

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