Mark Gastineau’s attempt to win a sack of cash from ESPN in a court of law proved to be one sack too far.
The legendary Jets sack master, who held the record for most sacks in a single season until Giants defensive end Michael Strahan broke it in 2001, attempted to sue ESPN for $25 million over airing a clip of him confronting Brett Favre.
The judge in the case denied Gastineau’s suit for the simple fact that the former Jets sack leader “consented, in writing, to the use of his name and likeness in the film and related promotional materials.”
The interaction between Favre and Gastineu aired on ESPN’s The New York Sack Exchange, a documentary on the famed Jets pass rush that terrorized quarterbacks in the 19080s. The feature was part of the ESPN 30-for-30 series.
“The exchange between them concerned a venerated NFL record, the incident featured prominently in the film, and, as the film reflects, Gastineau’s aggressive conduct appears to have driven a wedge within the Sack Exchange quartet that was the subject of the film,” Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote, per TMZ Sports.
In the clip, Gastineau confronts Favre, who was the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback at the time of Strahan’s record-clinching sack, and accuses him of deliberately falling and allowing Strahan to sack him.
“When you fell down for him. … You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett.”
Favre has not expressly denied helping Strahan break the record. Though he does deny trying to hurt Gastineu.
In an X post last year, Favre wrote, “But at no point was I thinking about hurting Gastineau. Maybe it crossed my mind to help Strahan. I didn’t think it through. That wasn’t my forte at the time.”
Gastineau alleged that ESPN aired the footage of his confrontation with Favre without his “consent or permission,” and that they deliberately excluded video of the two shaking hands.
These actions, Gastineau alleged, led to him receiving a torrent of backlash from fans.
Favre later conceded that he could see how no longer being the sack leader impacted Gastineau.
“I see now how being the Sack King would elevate his value at card shows, strengthen his case for the Hall of Fame, increase his demand as a public speaker. I had no way of knowing that then,” Favre wrote. “I realize now the potential financial implications because football is far more business-oriented than when me or Mark played.”
Gastineau played for the Jets from 1979-1988, during which time he totaled 107.5 QB sacks.
