Why Do Mark Gastineau and Brett Favre Have Beef? All About the 2002 Sack That Caused Decades-Long Tension Between the Former NFL Stars

Mark Gastineau's sack record was beat during a 2002 game

There's been a rift between former New York Jets star Mark Gastineau and legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre since 2002.

Gastineau held the NFL sack record from 1984 to 2001 — an accomplishment he coveted and believed would land him a spot in the Hall of Fame. After nearly two decades, though, New York Giants star Michael Strahan succeeded Gastineau when he sacked Favre in a Giants vs. Green Bay Packers face-off in January 2002.

After Gastineau watched Strahan reach 22.5 sacks in one season, he congratulated him for the achievement but in the years since, Gastineau has stated that he believes Farve aided Strahan to beat his longtime record.

Most recently, Gastineau aired his grievances in ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary titled The New York Sack Exchange, which premiered on Dec. 13. The former defensive end is convinced that Favre "took a dive" so that Strahan could easily meet the milestone in the final game of the 2001 regular season.

Gastineau's long-harbored resentment toward Favre reached a head in 2023 when he confronted the Hall of Famer at a memorabilia show in Chicago.

"I'm gonna get my sack back," Gastineau said in a preview of the documentary posted by ESPN on X. "You hurt me, Brett."

So what actually happened between Mark Gastineau and Brett Favre more than 20 years ago? Here's everything to know about the NFL players' decades-long rift — and why they're still talking about it today.

Mark Gastineau held the NFL sack record for 17 years 

Gastineau first earned the title of NFL sack leader in 1983 with 19 sacks. He held onto the accolade in 1984 with a record 22 sacks in a single season, according to The Athletic.

He spent his entire professional football career with the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988 — and made appearances in five Pro Bowls. After 144 total games (regular and postseason), Gastineau, No. 99, retired with a whopping 107.5 recorded sacks, per the Jets.

In 2012, the athlete was inducted into the Jets' Ring of Honor, where he was presented with a green jacket and a special ring.

Michael Strahan broke Mark Gastineau’s record in 2002 

Former New York Giants defensive end Strahan broke Gastineau's sack record in January 2002. It was the final game of the 2001 regular season, and late in the fourth quarter of the match-up between the Giants and Packers, when Strahan sacked Favre to accrue 22.5 sacks in a single season.

"There was nobody else who wanted Michael to get that more than Brett, and he showed it right there," an announcer could be heard saying during game footage from 2002, which was shown in The New York Sack Exchange.

While Gastineau congratulated Strahan on the field after his record-breaking sack, Gastineau went on to share his opinion on what happened during that moment, which seemingly overshadowed Strahan's career highlight.

In 2013, the athlete-turned-TV personality broke his silence and addressed how the public "diminished" his accomplishment.

"Everyone looks as if the one sack that they question is the defining moment of my career. I didn't have a sack in the first three weeks of the season. So, from four weeks on, 13 games, 22.5 sacks ... that's hard to match," Strahan said in the NFL Network's documentary titled A Football Life.

He continued, "I've never spoken like this about it because I've always kind of taken it, but I always have to say, 'If you don't like it, then break it.' That's it."

Mark Gastineau believes Brett Favre “took a dive” so that Strahan could break the sack record 

Gastineau has claimed that Favre purposely "took a dive" so Strahan could break the sack record in 2002.

"The NFL should have stopped that, and said, 'Listen, that's not a sack.' [Favre] took my record away from me," he said during an interview for ESPN's The New York Sack Exchange.

The former athlete is also convinced that losing the record to Strahan cost him a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame.

"Everybody asks me, 'Why aren't you in the Hall of Fame?' Do you know how long I've thought about it? A long time," Gastineau said. "I don't know why."

Mark Gastineau confronted Brett Favre in 2023 about the record-breaking play 

In 2023, over two decades after Strahan broke the sack record, Gastineau confronted Favre at a memorabilia show in Chicago. The tense exchange was caught on camera for the documentary The New York Sack Exchange and shared by ESPN on X.

"You fell down for him," Gastineau said to the former quarterback, referring to the historic moment on the field in 2002. "I'm going to get my sack back. I'm going to get my sack back, dude."

Favre responded, "You probably would hurt me." The former Jets player fired back, saying, "Well, I don't care. You hurt me. You hurt me! You hear me? You really hurt me. You hurt me, Brett."

According to ESPN, Gastineau's wife, Jo Ann Gastineau, apologized to Favre later that day and said her husband didn't mean anything by his comments. The outlet also spoke to Gastineau, who said he had plans to confront Strahan as well.

"I wanted to let him know it was a trash sack," he said of his brief interaction with Favre. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time — many, many years. I've only got one more guy to go to."

However, Gastineau's emotional 30 for 30 interview suggests that he may forgo speaking to Strahan.

"The thing that you have to do, you have to forgive," he added.

Brett Favre defended himself on social media in December 2024

Following ESPN's post about the "small dustup" between Gastineau and Favre, the former Packers quarterback went on X to "clear the air."

In a lengthy post, he wrote: "Back in 2002, when Michael Strahan sacked me at the end of a game, I was in no way trying to hurt Mark Gastineau. I was trying to close out a game and squeeze the last bit of fun out of a hard-fought game."

"It probably wasn’t Michael’s best sack. In a different game or situation, I would have made a bigger effort to avoid the sack," Favre continued. "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."

He went on to sympathize with Gastineau and advocate for his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame.

"In retrospect, I understand how Gastineau feels," Favre added. "A while back, he saw me at a card show and got his frustration off his chest. It’s not the kind of moment that should be filmed and released. It was a private moment of frustration between two old football warriors. I have a great deal of respect for Mark. I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame."