Mark Madden: Mark Gastineau was cheated by Brett Favre, and the NFL should make it up to him

On Friday, ESPN will host “30 for 30” about the “New York Sack Exchange,” the New York Jets’ pass rush of the 1980s. It’s narrated by Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man, so you know it’s good.

One of the topics covered in the documentary is the stealing of the NFL single-season sack record from the Jets’ Mark Gastineau, who had 22 sacks in 1984.

That mark was broken in 2001 when Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre lay down to give the New York Giants’ Michael Strahan a sack in the final moments of the final game of the season. Favre apparently allowed Strahan to fire him.

That gave Strahan a spoiled total of 22½, a number equaled by the Steelers’ TJ Watt in 2021.

Someone tell JJ Watt. He can constantly tweet about his brother being wronged and declare TJ the real sack king. Maybe sell t-shirts.

What Favre did stinks no less today.

Gastineau made that clear when he addressed Favre at a memorabilia exhibition last year. He immediately threatened to fire Favre, which resulted in Favre quickly escaping the confrontation.

Twenty-two years after Mark Gastineau lost the NFL’s single-season sack record, he called out Brett Favre for “jumping” on the record-breaking play.

Catch the latest @30for30“The New York Sack Exchange,” on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning December 13. pic.twitter.com/Oz5KRwVcy7

– ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2024

This video is part of the “30 for 30” campaign. When news broke on social media earlier this week, Favre posted a clumsy denial/apology via Twitter.

I’d like to clear the air on the footage released showing a minor altercation between me and former New York Jet Mark Gastineau, so here’s a ????.
(1)

— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) December 11, 2024

Favre is a career scumbag. He was accused of diverting public funds in Mississippi. His alleged sexual harassment of former Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger somehow ruined her career but left Favre unscathed.

Gastineau is 100% right to be angry.

Strahan should be embarrassed about how he got the file, and he admitted it.

Since retiring from football, Strahan has enjoyed incredible success on television. Perhaps Gastineau believes he would have done this if he had kept the dismissal file. (This is delusional, but the video of Gastineau complaining to Favre does not put Gastineau in a rational light.)

Perhaps maintaining that sack record until Watt broke it would have allowed Gastineau to make more money at card shows, Comic-Cons, car signings, etc.

Maybe Gastineau would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (But probably not. He never reached the semifinals of the trial.)

Gastineau was proud of this record. He held it for 17 years. But it was stolen from him. It was dishonest. As Gastineau said to Favre, “Everyone will tell you Brett Favre took a leap.”

The NFL should have overturned that sack then. The NFL should go back and take it away now.

If that were to happen now, Favre and Strahan could be accused of negotiating a prop bet. You could be suspended.

If that happened now, social media would go crazy. When New Orleans was thwarted by a non-call on pass interference attack in the 2018 NFC championship game, public outcry convinced the NFL to make pass interference a verifiable call in 2019, an experiment which only lasted a year.

Gastineau was cheated. What Favre did was wrong. It was terrible back then. It’s terrible now.

Sports must be played 100% on the pitch. What Favre and Strahan planned – no matter how unknowingly Strahan did it – should be corrected. They cheated on football and Gastineau.

Take the sack away from Favre from Strahan.

If what happened isn’t a big deal, then the records aren’t a big deal either.

A quarterback hated to see them coming????@30for30‘s ‘The New York Sack Exchange’ | December 13th at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN???? pic.twitter.com/tsI1ViUXzX

– NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 20, 2024