Gastineau was among the most talented and honored defensive linemen of his era. He made the Pro Bowl five straight seasons (1981–1985) and finished his ten-year career with 74 officially recorded sacks (sacks were not an official stat for the first three years of his career). He was a First-team All-Pro in 1982–1984 and was consensus All-AFC in each of those years.
The "New York Sack Exchange" In New York, Gastineau was a key part of the famed "
New York Sack Exchange", the Jets defensive line that also included
Joe Klecko,
Marty Lyons and
Abdul Salaam. The four combined for 66 sacks in
1981, including 20 by Gastineau (in
1981 sacks were unofficial, but Gastineau's 20 sacks trailed Klecko by only half a sack), to lead the Jets to their first playoff game since
1969. He was second-team All-Pro in 1981 as well as being consensus All-AFC. In November 1981, he, Klecko, Lyons, and Salaam were invited to ring the ceremonial opening bell at the
New York Stock Exchange, which served as the inspiration for their nickname. With Klecko rupturing the patella tendon in his right knee in the second game of the
strike shortened 1982 season against the
New England Patriots, Gastineau became the new unofficial leader of the "Sack Exchange". Though he was often double-teamed, he finished the season with six sacks, and was voted the NFL Defensive Player of the Year by NEA (and awarded the
George Halas Trophy). The Jets made the playoffs again in
1982, losing the
AFC Championship game to the
Miami Dolphins.
Defensive Player of the Year The
1983 season started with Gastineau and the Jets' first round pick of the
1983 NFL draft,
quarterback Ken O'Brien, being arrested and charged with assault at
Studio 54. Despite this off-the-field indiscretion, Gastineau totaled 19 sacks to lead the NFL for the first time. Gastineau was nationally famous for doing his signature "Sack Dance" after sacking an opposing quarterback. However, he had to stop when the NFL declared it "unsportsmanlike taunting" in March 1984 and began fining players for it. The ban on the dance stemmed from a
bench-clearing brawl in the third quarter of a 27–24 overtime win over the
Los Angeles Rams at
Shea Stadium on September 25, 1983, which began with a sack of
Vince Ferragamo by Gastineau who was then shoved from behind by
Jackie Slater, the
right tackle he had beaten on the play. One month later on October 21, a total of $15,750 in
fines was assessed by the NFL against 16 Jets ($7,300) and 21 Rams ($8,450), with Gastineau incurring a $1,000 penalty. Gastineau had his best individual season with an NFL record 22 sacks (leading the NFL for the second year in a row), 69 tackles and one fumble recovery for a touchdown in
1984. He was voted the UPI AFC Defensive Player of the Year, and was also named MVP of that season's
Pro Bowl after tallying four sacks and a safety in that game. Gastineau's sack record stood for 17 years until
Michael Strahan broke it in
2001. New defensive coordinator
Bud Carson installed a 3-4 defense for the
1985 season. Gastineau shifted from left defensive end to right defensive end, although he did move him around to allow for mismatches. Gastineau broke his hand early in that season but still finished second in the league with 13½ sacks and was voted All-Pro by the NEA. The Jets finished 11–5 in
1985 to earn a wildcard spot in the playoffs along with fellow
AFC East rivals, the
New England Patriots. Gastineau recorded a sack in the Jets' 26–14 loss to the Pats at the
Meadowlands.
1986 playoffs For the start of the
1986 season, Gastineau was featured on the cover of
Sports Illustrated alongside
New York Giants star
linebacker Lawrence Taylor. Injuries limited Gastineau to just two sacks in ten games (his lowest total since his rookie season) as he was slowed by groin and abdominal muscle ailments and then by a damaged left knee that required arthroscopic surgery and forced him to miss the last five games of the regular season. Gastineau rebounded in the
postseason, however, recording a sack in the Jets 35–15 wildcard round victory over the
Kansas City Chiefs and more in the divisional-round playoff game against the
Cleveland Browns. Late in the fourth quarter of that game, though, with the Jets leading 20–10 and the Browns facing a second down and 24 from their own 18-yard line, Gastineau was called for a roughing the passer penalty. The play had originally resulted in an incomplete pass by Browns quarterback
Bernie Kosar so instead of having a 3rd-and-24 situation, the 15-yard penalty on Gastineau gave the Browns a first down at their own 33. From there, the Browns drove the remaining 67 yards to a touchdown which cut the Jets' lead to 20–17. The Browns would later tie the game with 7 seconds remaining in regulation on a 22-yard field goal by
Mark Moseley and win it on a 27-yard field goal by Moseley 2 minutes and 2 seconds into the second overtime period. After the game, Gastineau said that he hadn't been guilty of roughing and that he was "just following through." Teammate Marty Lyons, the Jets' other starting defensive end, defended Gastineau saying, "(
Ben Dreith) is a referee who's known to take care of the quarterback."
Joe Walton, the Jets' head coach would say only, "It was a very key play, Mark was just trying to do the best he could do."
1987 NFL Players' strike In
1987, Gastineau was the only Jet regular to immediately cross the picket line in
that year's players' strike, citing his need to pay alimony. Teammate
Dave Jennings said of this understandably unpopular move: "We expected it from Mark. He's always put himself in front of the team." The crossing brought to a head longstanding tensions between Gastineau and his teammates; he had never been popular in the locker room. Gastineau got into a fight with backup center
Guy Bingham when he drove into the Jets complex early in the strike. Gastineau was later joined in crossing the picket line by teammates Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko, further undermining the players' strike.
Retirement Gastineau led the
AFC in sacks seven weeks into the 1988 season. He then abruptly announced his retirement soon after
Brigitte Nielsen, to whom he had previously announced his engagement, claimed to be suffering from cancer of the uterus. At the time of his retirement, Gastineau was the NFL's all-time leader in sacks. Gastineau attempted a comeback with the
BC Lions of the
Canadian Football League in
1990, but was released after only four games. Gastineau was inducted into the
New York Jets Ring of Honor on October 8, 2012. In 2022, the
Professional Football Researchers Association named Gastineau to the
PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2022. ==NFL career statistics==