A viral moment featured in ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary “The New York Sack Exchange” has resulted in a $25 million lawsuit.
Former New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau is suing ESPN, NFL, NFL Films and “30 for 30” co-directors James Weiner and Ken Rodgers regarding the promotion and publication of an exchange between him and Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre on Nov. 18, 2023.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court Southern District of New York and obtained by The Athletic, claims the encounter was aired without Gastineau’s consent or permission and displays him “in a manner which was maliciously false,” causing Gastineau to be “attacked on social media with ridicule, scorn and contempt.”
ESPN declined comment to The Athletic regarding the lawsuit. The NFL and Gastineau’s lawyer, Christopher Cassar, did not respond to requests for comment.
Gastineau set the NFL single-season sack record with 22 in 1984, but it was broken in the final week of the 2001 season when Michael Strahan of the New York Giants was credited with a sack of Favre, bringing Strahan’s season total to 22.5. When discussing the moment in the 30 for 30 documentary, Gastineau said Favre “took a dive” on Strahan’s record-breaking play.
As shown in the documentary, Gastineau approached Favre at the Chicago Sports Spectacular in 2023, in which Favre suggested the two met before.
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
“Yeah, right — when you fell down for him,” Gastineau says. “I’m going to get my sack back. I’m going to get my sack back, dude.”
“You probably would hurt me,” Favre says.
“Well, I don’t care,” Gastineau says. “You hurt me. You hurt me! You hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Favre says.
“You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett,” Gastineau says before Favre is directed away.
In the video of the exchange, Favre extends his hand for a handshake, but Gastineau does not return it. The lawsuit claims Gastineau and Favre shook hands during the conversation and the moment was “intentionally and maliciously” left out.
The lawsuit acknowledges Gastineau entered into a “talent agreement” with ESPN in January 2024 in which Gastineau was to be paid $10,000. The lawsuit claims the defendants breached that agreement with the “unauthorized use” of the exchange with Favre. The lawsuit claims the defendants “misused and misappropriated” footage of the exchange and “brazenly continues to exploit the Plaintiff, Mark Gastineau, image for commercial gain.”
In December 2024, Favre wrote a series of posts on X in response to the clip, acknowledging he aided Strahan’s claiming of the record while saying he meant no harm to Gastineau.
Rodgers, one of the co-directors, also acknowledged the moment in an interview with The Athletic prior to the documentary’s release.
“It is the real-time moment of the film, and it has never been seen before,” Rodgers said. “We found out that they were going to be together at a card show in Chicago signing autographs, though Abdul ended up not making it. Our goal was to just capture the three of them together. When we got there, Mark was discussing with Klecko and Lyons the fact that Brett Favre was there and how he’s finally going to go talk to him because he had never had a chance to confront him. We were following Mark and when it happened, and it’s as genuine as it looks. He was 100 percent expressing that hurt. I think Favre was 100 percent bewildered at the response and the vehemence of it.
“It got serious very quickly,” Rodgers continued. “Everyone in the room realized it was serious. I don’t know that there was a thought that they would come to blows, but there was true emotion. It really does still stick with Mark. He feels it’s an unfair breaking of his record. I think if he were to blame anybody, he might blame the NFL for letting it happen second to Favre first. I don’t want to speak for him, but I think he feels robbed by that moment.”
In 2021, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt recorded 22.5 single-season sacks, tying Strahan for the record.
The “New York Sack Exchange” 30 for 30 documentary premiered on Dec. 13, 2024, and was named after the famed defensive line of the 1980s New York Jets.
Required reading
(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images)