“I could never convince anyone … that I was anything more than a crazy Jets fan stuck in the 1980s who wanted to make this movie.”

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 goal: He wanted to make a film about the famous New York Jets defensive line of the 1980s – “The New York Sack Exchange.”

Weiner is an award-winning executive producer for NFL Films whose credits include “The Brady 6” and “SEC Storied: Saturday Night Lights.” However, he grew up in Port Washington, New York, a 20-minute drive from Shea in the 1980s. His lifelong professional passion was making a film about the Jets’ formidable defensive line of the 1980s, starring Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam, Joe Klecko and Mark Gastineau took part.

“I’ve been trying to make this movie for at least 20 years,” Weiner said. “But I could never convince anyone.”

The dream was postponed, but not unfulfilled. Weiner and co-director Ken Rodgers (who has been featured on this site and is the director of many great NFL documentaries, including “Belichick & Saban: The Art of Coaching,” “The Two Bills” and “Four Falls of Buffalo”) have taken a relaxed and compelling look at one of the most talked about defensive units in NFL history.

“The New York Sack Exchange” premieres December 13th at 8pm ET on ESPN and will be available to stream on ESPN+ following the 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 a film treatment at the Sack Exchange, but the meeting was inconclusive. The project seemed dead until Weiner took a bike ride to Rodgers’ house in the fall of 2022 and discussed the two projects they had always wanted to do. Rodgers encouraged Weiner that no good idea never dies.

Then came a news catalyst: Klecko will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023. Finally the big breakthrough. Last year, Rodgers gave Marsha Cooke, vice president and executive producer of ESPN Films and 30 for 30, a tour of NFL Films, and the two chatted about Joe Namath. Cooke, who began her current role in 2021, said she was a natural-born Jets fan from the Bronx. Rodgers pitched her on a documentary about the New York Sack Exchange during the tour, and Cooke was hooked. The filmmakers later made a more formal pitch and eventually ESPN Films was on board.

“The induction of Joe Klecko into the Hall of Fame changed things,” Rodgers said. “Our first shoot with the collective group took place at the Hall of Fame. We followed Joe backstage and had everyone wired during his speech and backstage. I’m not sure any of the four would necessarily have made a film just about them. They wanted a film about the Sack Exchange. I think Mark understood when Joe was inducted into the Hall of Fame that it was a kind of validation for his own career, even though, as you see in the film, he wonders if he’ll ever get in.”

After getting approval from ESPN Films, they had to interview Salaam because his health was deteriorating – he died in early October at the age of 71. The filmmakers knew they had to shoot the quartet at the New York Stock Exchange to recreate the famous film photo of the foursome (seen at the top of this story) posing in uniform on the floor of the financial center. Therefore, as part of filming the film, they rented a private car to drive Salaam for ten 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 but compelling figure. To their credit, the filmmakers don’t sugarcoat Gastineau’s career, his decisions, and the way his behavior infuriated his teammates. Rarely do you see someone on film treat a teammate as ruthlessly as “Lyons” did about Gastineau. They also illustrate where Gastineau was ahead of his time (his sack dance today is quaint compared to some celebrations).

Mark Gastineau (99) from the New York Jets was known for his extravagance in defensive plays. (TG Higgins/Getty Images)

“There is empathy for Mark’s arguments, if not for him,” Weiner said. “His arguments have real merit and allowed us to present them the way he argued them.”

(The athletic oneDan Pompei wrote a great profile of Gastineau last June that’s worth reading in case you missed it.)

“I was always drawn to this project that James was so passionate about because of the disagreements that these four guys had with each other,” Rodgers said. “Klecko and Gastineau used to have different opinions, but today it’s more like Lyons and Gastineau. I feel like the question the film is asking is, “Do you have to get along with others to be great together?” They were great together, there’s no doubt about that. But one can ask the question: If they had gotten along better, could they have achieved even greater heights? I don’t know the answer to that. But the theme of the film is ultimately about forgiveness and acceptance.”

The film’s most notable moment – and it will likely go viral when it comes out – was footage the producers obtained last fall of Gastineau walking up to longtime NFL quarterback Brett Favre at a remembrance show in Chicago and a confused-looking one Favre takes issue with New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan breaking Gastineau’s sack record of 22 sacks in a season, set in 1984 (Strahan holds the current record with 22.5 on a talented player). Favre’s dismissal in 2001). The footage was never publicly broadcast.

“It’s the real-time moment of the movie that you’ve never seen before,” Rodgers said. “We found out they were going to be at a card show together in Chicago signing autographs, although Abdul ultimately didn’t make it. Our goal was to simply capture the three together. When we got there, Mark discussed with Klecko and Lyons the fact that Brett Favre was there and how he was going to finally talk to him because he never had the chance to confront him. We were tracking Mark and when it happened and it’s as real as it looks. He expressed that pain 100 percent. I think Farve was 100 percent confused by the reaction and the violence.

“It got serious very quickly,” Rodgers continued. “It became clear to everyone in the room that this was serious. I don’t know that there was any thought that there would be an argument between them, but there were real feelings there. It really sticks with Mark. He thinks it’s an unfair break from his record. I think if he were to blame anyone, he would perhaps be second only to Favre to blame the NFL first for allowing it to happen. I don’t want to speak for him, but I think he feels robbed at this moment.”

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(Top photo: Ronald C. Modra / Getty Images)