James Weiner had been trying to make a film about the New York Sack Exchange since he joined NFL Films in 2001.

They were in his fan base as a kid from Port Washington who wasn’t born for Super Bowl III but old enough to say his first live NFL game was Joe Namath’s last as a Jet – a 3:42- Lost to the Bengals at Shea Stadium on December 12, 1976.

Then it finally happened, and just in time.

“The window of opportunity to do this was literally about 18 months,” said Weiner, co-director of “The New York Sack Exchange,” an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary about the Jets’ famed defensive line in the early 1980s years, which premieres on Friday at 8 p.m.

The first step was the election of Joe Klecko to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in early 2023, reinforcing the idea that the film could have national appeal.

The urgency on the other end was the deteriorating health of Abdul Salaam, an original Sack Exchange member with Klecko, Marty Lyons and Mark Gastineau.

Weiner had already had to cut short an interview with Salaam in Cincinnati when he became ill and ended up in the hospital.

Then last April, NFL Films sent a driver to Cincinnati to take him and his family to New York. He was able to meet with his old teammates for a group interview on the floor of the stock exchange and recreate an iconic photo there.

Salaam died on October 8 at the age of 71 from diabetes and other health problems.

“Amazing,” Lyons told Newsday. “James tried to make this thing for about 25 years and then he finally did it and a few months later Abdul had died. If Abdul isn’t in the film, it’s not the same.”

Lyons burst into tears as he remembered Salaam.

“He was a great player, but he was a larger-than-life friend,” Lyons said. “It takes a piece of you. . . It was good to know he was recognized as part of that group.”

Salaam was the least praised of the four, but the key role he played is evident in the film. His name means “soldier of peace,” and that mission was repeatedly put to the test from the 1980s until this interview in April.

“His name was ‘Soldier of Peace,’ and that’s exactly what he did: he kept the peace between the four of us,” Lyons said.

These interpersonal dynamics are the focus of the film. There’s no shortage of vintage footage that will warm the hearts of fans old enough to remember those days.

What stands out, however, is the animosity between the Klecko/Lyons alliance and Gastineau, who remains true to his reputation from his playing days and appears immature and extremely unpredictable. The more old-fashioned souls of Klecko and Lyons often didn’t like that. The ill will was mutual.

In the film’s most shocking scene, Gastineau once again verbally attacks his two old friends during this NYSE meeting. These are men in their late 60s and early 70s.

“After 40 years, I think if any of us had resentment, animosity or jealousy, we have to let that stuff go,” Lyons said, “because it eats you up from the inside out.” You could see that Joe, I and Abdul had moved on and we’re still waiting and hoping and praying that one day Mark will.”

Weiner almost got Gastineau to sign for the film in 2013, but that fell through. After he agreed to do it this time, the project was in full swing. Gastineau participated in two two-hour individual interviews.

“Mark doesn’t really identify as the guy who played football in the ’80s anymore,” Weiner said. “In his eyes he is a completely different person now. However, when you mention the ’80s and the Jets, he immediately goes back to this guy.

“It turned out to be a pretty confrontational interview. Still, he answered all the questions and it was an entertaining show.”

The peak of the Sack Exchange era was in 1981 and 1982.

The Jets started 1981 0-3 and then ended that streak with a win over the Oilers in which they recorded eight sacks. They achieved a 10-5-1 record and a playoff spot. This year there were 66 total sacks.

In the strike year of 1982, they went 6-3, beat the Bengals and Raiders in the playoffs, and then lost the AFC Championship Game in the heavy mud of Miami to the Dolphins.

A fan gave his name to the defensive line in a Jets release, searching for the team’s version of Front Four nicknames such as “Fearsome Foursome,” “Purple People Eaters” and “Steel Curtain.”

It caught on quickly.

The four visited the stock exchange in November to ring the opening bell and shoot the image that Weiner and his colleagues reconstructed.

Weiner made sure to give the film a Long Island feel, including the narration of Method Man, the Hempstead musician.

Now his ode to his childhood football heroes can be shared.

“Part of me doesn’t believe it finally happened,” Weiner said. “It was a long fight until the end. It’s been a long battle, but very rewarding.”