Does Mark Gastineau belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? It’s a question being posed anew this week as the 1981 New York Jets are proving more newsworthy than the 2024 New York Jets.
A clip of ESPN’s upcoming “30 for 30” installment profiling the Jets’ famed “New York Sack Exchange,” which debuts Friday night, showed Gastineau, the most prolific pass rusher in franchise history, confronting Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre at a card show in Chicago last year. The reason? Gastineau remains upset that Favre essentially gave himself up on what was largely a meaningless play at the end of a 2001 game against the New York Giants – but one that resulted in future Hall of Famer Michael Strahan breaking Gastineau’s 17-year-old (at the time) single-season NFL sack record.
“I know that Mark was upset with Brett Favre,” Gastineau’s longtime Jets linemate, Marty Lyons, told USA TODAY Sports this week.
“I was there, and I told him, ‘Mark, you’ve got to let it go.’ And he wasn’t gonna let it go. … It’s just a number, and it’s already been tied anyway with (Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker) T.J. Watt.
“But for Mark to carry that burden so many years after the fact, it’s sad. It really is. … (I)t’s been eating at Mark all these years – he wasn’t able to let go and to move on. Did it mean that much to him? Apparently, it did.”
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A three-time All-Pro, Gastineau led the NFL in sacks both in 1983 (with 19) and 1984, when racked up 22 to set the record. Strahan finished with 22½ after his dubious takedown of Favre, a figure Watt matched in 2021.
“You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett,” Gastineau could be heard saying in the video clip of the brief encounter, Favre appearing slightly stunned before being escorted away.
Favre explained his side of the story in a lengthy social media post Tuesday but also seemed to endorse Gastineau as HOF-worthy.
“I have a great deal of respect for Mark. I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame,” Favre wrote on X.
“He earned it. Look at his numbers.”
While Watt seems a shoo-in to eventually join Favre and Strahan in Canton one day, Gastineau – a five-time Pro Bowler with 107½ career sacks (74 occurring after they became an official statistic in 1982) – has no bronze bust.
Should he?
“Listen, it’s a valid question. I’ve always believed that if you’re that good, you don’t have to be out there promoting yourself, you know?” said Lyons, Gastineau’s teammate from 1979 to ’88.
“Does Mark deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? You know, the numbers will say yes – but to be honest with you, I don’t know.
“Did he play for the (sacks)? Or did he play for the game, did he play for his teammates?”
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It’s just one issue at the center of Gastineau’s candidacy. At 6-5 and a sculpted 265 pounds – and Gastineau was an admitted user of steroids, as were many NFL players of his era – he was ultra athletic and the kind of explosive talent who helped shape what the modern edge rusher has become. But he was also often accused of ignoring his gap responsibilities or failing to focus on defending the run as he pursued quarterbacks.
That distinguished Gastineau from another “Sack Exchange” member, Joe Klecko. A Pro Bowler at defensive end, defensive tackle and nose tackle, Klecko had 31 sacks (unofficially) spread between the 1980 and ’81 seasons but also spent much of his career leveraging his signature strength and doing the dirty work inside.
Klecko was enshrined into the Hall last year after a 35-year wait. Whether Gastineau joins him seems likely to remain an open question.
“I think Mark was an outstanding defensive end, he could get to the quarterback,” said Lyons.
“Was he one-dimensional? Maybe. Did he think that every play was a pass? Maybe – but he could get to the quarterback.”
Lyons, a close friend of Klecko’s for decades, has admittedly had a complicated relationship with Gastineau, frequently offering him support – including when Gastineau was diagnosed with colon cancer – but just as often clashing with a man who’s had his share of challenges on and off the field.
“I don’t live in the past,” said Lyons. “I told Mark, ‘There’s an old saying: Your future happiness may very well depend on your ability to leave the past behind.’
“I’ve always wished Mark the best.”
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.