Everything You Need to Know about the New York Sack Exchange

The New York Jets have boasted several strong defensive units over the course of the franchise’s more than 60-year history. Defensive ends Gerry Philbin and Verlon Biggs were integral to the Jets winning the 1968-69 Super Bowl, and the 2009 squad that made a run to the AFC championship ranked as the league’s best defense.

Perhaps no Jets unit was more adept at wreaking havoc on opposing offenses, however, than the defensive line that took the field from the late ‘70s through the early ‘80s. Consisting of Abdul Salaam, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, and Mark Gastineau, that defensive line was famously known as the New York Sack Exchange.

The New York Sack Exchange dominated offenses over its five-year run, during which time it combined for a team record 53.5 sacks in 1981 and helped to carry the Jets to a pair of playoff appearances. So skilled were the four men at terrorizing the quarterback, in fact, that they were partially responsible for the NFL’s 1982 decision to begin tallying sacks as an official statistic. Let’s delve deeper into the legacy of this legendary defensive line by learning more about the four men who constituted it.

Abdul Salaam

The first member of the Sack Exchange to join the Jets was also its most low-profile. Known as Larry Faulk until 1977, he changed his name to Abdul Salaam a year after being drafted by the Jets. The name, which means “servant of peace,” belied his physical, gritty style of play.

The Jets selected Salaam out of Kent State University with the intention of addressing a league-worst run defense. Standing 6’3” and weighing 262 pounds, he played both nose guard and defensive end in college but lined up primarily at defensive tackle in New York.

While lacking the flashiness of fellow Sack Exchange members like Gastineau, Salaam was an effective run stopper who also regularly threatened the quarterback. Unofficially, he recorded seven sacks in 1981 alone, and he had four fumble recoveries for his career.

Salaam’s performance in a November 1981 victory against the Miami Dolphins was emblematic of his career. The Jets were down by three. After recording a first-half sack, Salaam stopped a third-and-goal rushing attempt that, if successful, would have put the game out of reach. Quarterback Richard Todd got the headlines for subsequently leading the Jets on a game-winning drive, but the victory wouldn’t have been possible without Salaam.

Joe Klecko

Joe Klecko was drafted by the Jets in 1977. A remarkably versatile athlete, he twice won collegiate club boxing heavyweight titles at Temple University, where he also led the football team in tackles in three consecutive seasons. Over his 11 years in New York, he not only played all three positions on the defensive line but made the Pro Bowl at each, the only player in NFL history to achieve this feat.

Klecko made an immediate impact upon joining the Jets by recording eight sacks in his rookie season, a team record for a first-year player. He would add many more over his 12-year career, including a league-best 20.5 in 1981, a season in which he was named the UPI Defensive Player of the Year.

Klecko tallied 78 sacks for his career, made four Pro Bowls, and twice earned All-Pro honors. He was only the third player to have his number retired by the Jets and is an inaugural member of the team’s Ring of Honor. In 2023, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Marty Lyons

The only member of the Sack Exchange drafted in the first round, Marty Lyons came to the Jets after earning consensus first-team All-American honors at the University of Alabama, where he played under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. In 2011, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and two years later, he joined Klecko in the Jets’ Ring of Honor.

As a pro, Lyons had a respectable career that saw him make two Pro Bowls. Joining with Salaam on the interior of the defensive line, he contributed to a stout run defense while also regularly pressuring the quarterback. During New York’s 1982 playoff run, he tallied a sack in each of three postseason games and recorded a team-best 12 tackles in the AFC championship game loss against the Miami Dolphins.

Apart from his on-field achievements, Lyons has long been widely respected off the field for his philanthropy and community involvement. In 1984, he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year, and he remains committed to charity today through the Marty Lyons Foundation, which grants wishes for children with terminal illnesses.

Mark Gastineau

The final piece of the New York Sack Exchange, and certainly the most flamboyant, Mark Gastineau was drafted by New York in the second round of the 1979 draft. His unremarkable college career—he played at three schools and was projected to be an eighth-round selection before being discovered by Jets scout Connie Carberg—gave no indication of the tremendous impact he would have in the NFL.

Regarded as one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, Gastineau made the Pro Bowl in five consecutive seasons and was a first-team All-Pro in three straight years. He was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1982 and led the league in sacks in 1983 and 1984.

Gastineau courted controversy with his “Sack Dance,” which was effectively outlawed by the NFL in 1984. He also admitted to steroid use and has been criticized for trying to pad his personal sack statistics at the expense of stopping the run. Still, without him, the New York Sack Exchange wouldn’t have been nearly as potent and probably would never have existed.