Brett Favre Responds to Video of Jets Legend Mark Gastineau Confronting Him

Former New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre responded on social media to video of Mark Gastineau confronting him about taking a record-breaking sack.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre releases a shuttle pass to Dorsey Levens for a first down while in the grasp of Carolina Panthers linebacker Kevin Green during the third quarter of the 1997 NFC Championship game on Jan. 12, 1997 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. At the time of Favre s retirement he held many of the Green bay s passing records as well as several league records. Favre won three consecutive league MVPs, in 1995, 96 and 97. His career includes two Super Bowl / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel archives / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Tuesday, ESPN released a clip of its 30 for 30 documentary called “New York Sack Exchange,” which is about the New York Jets’ famed pass rush from the 1980s.

The clip caused a stir on social media.

Mark Gastineau, one of the members of that famed “New York Sack Exchange,” confronted quarterback Brett Favre, who played one year for the Jets, about Favre’s infamous slide into a sack that led to Gastineau losing the NFL single-season record for sacks.

The clip featured an angry Gastineau telling Favre how unhappy he was about the sack he took at the end of the 2021 season that allowed New York Giants pass rusher Michael Strahan to reach 22.5 sacks that season, which allowed him to pass Gastineau’s 22 sacks, which he set in 1984.

22 years after losing the NFL single-season sack record, Mark Gastineau confronted Brett Favre for ‘taking a dive’ on the record-breaking play.

Catch the latest @30for30, 'The New York Sack Exchange,' on ESPN and ESPN+ starting Dec. 13. pic.twitter.com/Oz5KRwVcy7

— ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2024

“You fell down for him,” he said to Favre. “I’m gonna get my sack back. I’m gonna get my sack back, dude. … You hurt me Brett.”

The video, obviously, made the rounds on social media. It also got around to Favre.

Late Tuesday, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to clarify what he called a “small dustup” with Gastineau over the sack.

In the thread, he said that when he took the sack he was “… in no way trying to hurt Mark Gastineau.”

I want to clear the air on the footage released showing a small dustup between myself and Mark Gastineau, the former New York Jet, so here’s a 🧵.  
(1)

— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) December 11, 2024

He then went on to explain what happened in the lay.

“I booted out of a run thinking it would be wide open, saw Strahan standing there and ducked down. The game was over. There was no need for me to do anything spectacular. It probably wasn’t Michael’s best sack or tackle for loss.”

The Green Bay Packers won the game, 34-25.

Favre said if the situation had been different, had more been on the line, he would have made a bigger effort to avoid the sack. He said he wasn’t thinking about hurting Gastineau. In a later part of the thread, he seemed to express regret and understanding of what that status meant to 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,” Favre wrote. “I had no way of knowing that then. I realize now the potential financial implications because football is far more business-oriented than when me or Mark played.”

Finally, he expressed his respect for Gastineau and his hope that the Jets legend become a Hall-of-Famer one day.

“I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame. He earned it. Look at his numbers. He eclipsed 20 sacks twice and had 19 in another year!” he wrote.

Gastineau’s 22 sacks was later matched by Jared Allen in 2011 and Justin Houston in 2014. Strahan was later joined at 22.5 sacks by current Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt, who reached the mark in 2021.

While the five are officially at the top of the list, unofficially, per pro-football-reference.com, Detroit’s Al Baker had 23 sacks in 1978.