Mark Gastineau Marcus Dell Gastineau ( born November 20 , 1956 ) is a former American football player who was a leading defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988 . A five - time Pro Bowl er , his 100½ quarterback sack s in only his first 100 starts in the NFL made him one of the quickest and most feared pass rushers of his generation . Gastineau is ranked the 8th greatest pass rusher in NFL History on NFL Network ' s NFL Top 10 Pass Rushers . Early life . Gastineau was born in Ardmore , Oklahoma , and moved to Springerville , Arizona at the age of seven , when his parents , Ernie and Lou , bought a ranch . Ernie built his son a rodeo ring , and Mark began entering team - roping events at 12 . Mark ' s other passion was collecting Indian artifacts in Arizona ' s White Mountains . At Round Valley High School , Gastineau needed urging from his father to play football . Gastineau showed promise , but not enough to attract attention from major colleges . College . He entered Eastern Arizona Junior College in 1975 and earned All - America honors in his first season . He transferred to Arizona State University , and spent just one season playing defensive end there before finally settling upon East Central Oklahoma State University , now East Central University , in Ada , Oklahoma . He had 27 quarterback sacks in his college career , and earned Outstanding Defensive Lineman honors for the North in the 1979 Senior Bowl . He became ECU ' s first - ever draft pick when the New York Jets selected him in the second round of the 1979 NFL Draft . New York Jets . Gastineau was among the most talented and honored defensive linemen of his era . He made the Pro Bowl five straight seasons ( 1981 – 85 ) and finished his ten year career with 107½ sacks , the Jets all - time record . He was a First - team All - Pro in years 1981 - 85 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 twenty by Gastineau ( In 1981 sacks were unofficial , but Gastineau ' s 20 sacks trailed Klecko by only ½ 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 S . 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 , getting 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 Sack Dance stemmed from a 1983 game against the Los Angeles Rams , when Gastineau and Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater got into a fight following a Gastineau sack of Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo . 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 seventeen 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 , recording a sack in the Jets 35 - 15 wildcard round victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and 2½ more in the Divisional Round Playoff game against the Cleveland Browns . However , late in the fourth quarter of that game , 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 questionable 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 New York 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 . He ' s a very selfish individual . " Gastineau got into a fight with backup center Guy Bingham when he drove into the Jets complex early in the strike . Gastineau wound up having the last laugh of a sort when teammates Marty Lyons and Joe Klecko joined him later that season in breaking the players ' strike . Retirement . Gastineau met model and actress Brigitte Nielsen following the 1987 season , and soon began a highly - publicized romance . Gastineau led the AFC in sacks seven weeks into the 1988 season . He then abruptly announced his retirement soon after 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 . The announcement was followed by a surge of investigation by local New York papers of whether she was telling the truth , reflecting citywide mistrust of Gastineau . Gastineau tried a comeback , in the Canadian Football League in 1990 . He signed a two - year contract with the BC Lions , but got injured and was released after only four games . Boxing . In 1991 , Gastineau began a career in boxing , compiling a 15 - 2 record before retiring in 1996 . His first fight against Derrick Dukes produced a first - round knockout . Dukes , a professional wrestler , later admitted he took a dive . TV newsmagazine show " 60 Minutes " interviewed several others that fought Gastineau and were told to take dives to make Gastineau look good . His career ended in 1996 when he lost to another former football player , Alonzo Highsmith . His record in boxing was fifteen wins , two losses , and one no - contest . Personal life . His ex - wife Lisa Gastineau and their daughter Brittny Gastineau ( whom he has not seen in 17 years ) were the stars of the E ! reality television show , " The Gastineau Girls " . Gastineau has a son with actress Brigitte Nielsen , Killian Marcus ( born on December 15 , 1989 in Scottsdale , Arizona ) . Gastineau made a small cameo appearance as a prisoner in a crowd during a prison football game in the 1989 film " Lock Up " starring Sylvester Stallone ( to whom Nielsen was married prior to her relationship with Gastineau ) . Later he himself would spend time in prison , as he has had several run - ins with the law , including domestic violence and drug possession in 1993 . In 2000 , Gastineau spent eleven months behind bars in Rikers Island for parole violations . Gastineau has said he has become a changed person and hopes to have put his turbulent past behind him . Shortly after his release from prison in 2001 , he claimed to have a religious conversion to faith in Jesus Christ . Gastineau has appeared on programs such as " The 700 Club " to speak of his experience .