Sports
‘New York Sack Exchange’: New ESPN doc takes on ferocity, fame, forgiveness
“I never could convince anyone … that I was anything more than a crazy Jets fan stuck in the 1980s wanting to do this film.”
Some men dream of walking on the moon, building a Fortune 500 company, or starring in a Hollywood blockbuster.
James Weiner had a more esoteric aspiration: He wanted to direct a film about the famed defensive line of the 1980s New York Jets — “The New York Sack Exchange.”
Weiner is an award-winning senior producer for NFL Films with “The Brady 6” and “SEC Storied: Saturday Night Lights” among his credits, but growing up in the 1980s in Port Washington, New York, a 20-minute drive from Shea Stadium, his lifelong professional passion was to direct a film about the formidable defensive line of the 1980s Jets that featured Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam, Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau.
“I’ve been trying to do this film for at least 20 years,” Weiner said. “But I never could convince anyone.”
The dream was deferred but not unrealized. Weiner and co-director Ken Rodgers (who has been profiled on this site before and is the director of many terrific NFL documentaries, including “Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching,” “The Two Bills” and “Four Falls of Buffalo”) have produced a breezy and captivating look at one of the most talked-about defensive units in the history of the NFL.
“The New York Sack Exchange” premieres on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and will be available to stream on ESPN+ following its linear premiere. The film is narrated by musician, actor and lifelong Jets fan Method Man.
Weiner said he met with Gastineau and his family in 2013 to take the temperature of doing a film treatment on the Sack Exchange, but the meeting went nowhere. The project looked dead until the fall of 2022, when Weiner took a bike ride to Rodgers’ home, and the two discussed projects that they always wanted to do. Rodgers, in an encouraging mode, told Weiner that no good idea never dies.
Then came a news catalyst: Klecko entering the Hall of Fame in 2023. Finally, a big break. Last year, Rodgers was giving Marsha Cooke, the vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and 30 for 30, a tour of NFL Films, and the two got to talking about Joe Namath. Cooke, who started in her current role in 2021, said she was a born-and-bred Jets fan from the Bronx. Rodgers pitched her during the tour about a documentary on the New York Sack Exchange, and Cooke loved it. The filmmakers later made a more formal pitch, and eventually, ESPN Films was in.
“Joe Klecko getting into the Hall of Fame changed things,” Rodgers said. “Our first shoot with the collective group was at the Hall of Fame. We followed Joe behind the scenes and had all of them wired during his speech and backstage. I’m not sure any of the four of them would have necessarily wanted a film made about just them. They wanted a film about the Sack Exchange. I think Mark understood once Joe got into the Hall of Fame that that was somewhat of a validation for his own career, though as you see in the film he wonders if he’ll ever get in.”
Once they got the go-ahead from ESPN Films, they needed to interview Salaam because of his declining health — he died in early October at age 71. The filmmakers knew they had to shoot the quartet at the New York Stock Exchange, replicating the famous photo of the foursome (seen atop this story) when they posed in uniform on the floor of the financial hub. So, as part of the making of the film, they hired a private car to drive Salaam 10 hours from his home in Cincinnati to New York City in April 2024.
Gastineau is the central figure of the documentary and remains an exhausting figure, though compelling too. The filmmakers, to their credit, do not sugarcoat Gastineau’s career, his decisions and how infuriating his behavior was for his teammates. You will rarely see someone on film more unsparing about a teammate as Lyons is about Gastineau. They also highlight where Gastineau was ahead of his time (his sack dance today is quaint compared to some celebrations).
The New York Jets’ Mark Gastineau (99) was known for his flamboyance after making defensive plays. (T.G. Higgins / Getty Images)
“There’s empathy there for Mark’s arguments, if not for him,” Weiner said. “His arguments have some real merit and allowed us to present them as he argued them.”
(The Athletic’s Dan Pompei wrote a terrific profile of Gastineau last June that is worth reading if you missed it.)
“I was always attracted to this project that James had such passion for, because of the disagreements these four guys had together,” Rodgers said. “Back in the day, it was Klecko and Gastineau disagreeing, and now it’s more Lyons and Gastineau. I feel like the question the film asks is: ‘Do you have to get along with others in order to be great together?’ They were great together, there’s no doubt. But you can ask the question: If they got along better, could they have reached even greater heights? I don’t know the answer to that. But the theme of the film ends up being about forgiveness and accepting.”
The most remarkable moment of the film — and it will likely go viral when it comes out — was footage the producers procured of Gastineau last fall going up to longtime NFL quarterback Brett Favre at a memorabilia show in Chicago and laying into a bewildered-looking Favre about letting New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan break Gastineau’s 1984 single-season sack record of 22 (Strahan holds the current record with 22.5 on a gifted sack from Favre in 2001). The footage has never aired publicly.
“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 Farve 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.”
GO DEEPER
Mark Gastineau doesn’t need your attention anymore
(Top photo: Ronald C. Modra / Getty Images)
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Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
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Star receiver Puka Nacua will fully participate in voluntary offseason workouts, the Rams are getting closer to another contract adjustment with quarterback Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead hope backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo decides to put off retirement and return for a third season and possible Super Bowl run.
McVay and Snead addressed those topics and the NFL draft on Tuesday during a videoconference with reporters.
Nacua led the NFL in receptions last season but also was involved in a string of off-the-field incidents the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. Those situations put the brakes on any immediate discussion between the Rams and Nacua about a massive extension for the fourth-year pro.
In March, Nacua began a rehabilitation program in Malibu, but he was present for the first day of workouts on Monday.
Nacua, 24, “looks great” and is “doing really well,” McVay said. McVay declined to detail discussions he’s had with the All-Pro, who was a finalist for NFL offensive player of the year.
“He and I have a great relationship,” McVay said. “Feel really good about kind of the direction we’re going.”
Stafford, 38, led the Rams to the NFC championship game last season and is the reigning NFL most valuable player. According to overthecap.com, he is due to carry a salary-cap number of $48.3 million this season.
But Stafford has no doubt demanded, and will receive, a raise and a possible additional year in a deal that the Rams acknowledged two years ago is essentially a year-to-year situation.
“Progress has been made,” Snead said of negotiations.
There is no timeline, Snead said, “but don’t expect any drama, per se.”
Garoppolo, 34, has backed up Stafford for two seasons, and he has been invaluable.
Last year, with Stafford sidelined for training camp because of a back issue, Garoppolo ran the offense and prepped the defense with a skillset honed during a 12-year career that included a Super Bowl appearance. Stafford joined workouts before the season and remained healthy throughout, but Garoppolo was perhaps the most valuable insurance policy in the NFL.
Last season, Garoppolo played on a one-year contract and earned $4.5 million, according to overthecap.com.
McVay expressed confidence in fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett, but said he was hopeful that “when the time is right,” Garoppolo will “change his mind,” and return.
“You leave the door open,” McVay said when asked if there was a point that Rams would press Garoppolo to return. “I don’t think you want to press. What you don’t want to do is ever force a guy to play if in his mind he’s ready to move on.
“But you don’t want to minimize that, ‘Hey, if you do decide you want to play, let’s make sure it’s here with us.”
The Rams have the 13th pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh. They have one pick in the second and third rounds, one in the sixth round and three in the seventh.
Receiver, offensive line and edge rusher are among the positions the Rams could address with their first top-15 pick since they selected quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
“There’s a lot of possibilities,” McVay said. “We don’t control what happens in those 12 picks before, and so what we’ve done is a lot of contingency planning and a lot of conversations, and feel really good about that.”
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The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
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With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
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The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
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View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
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