The Top New York Jets By Jersey Number: 99
Though they only sport one Super Bowl win, the New York Jets have a history rich in talented and sometimes colorful players. We take a look at the best to wear each jersey number, starting with 99.
After three years as the Titans, the New York Jets joined the football landscape in 1963 as a member of the AFL. The years since have given fans varying degrees of success, with their fair share or playoff appearance, more than their fair share of poor seasons, and one Super Bowl title. It’s fair to say that the history of the Jets, especially in the eyes of the passionate fan base, has been “interesting”.
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What the Jets have had, however, is a history of talented players at every position on the football field. Some have even been “colorful”. To look at this storied history, we are going to count backwards from 99, and look at the top player in team history to wear each jersey number.
As we begin with the highest jersey number, the choice was quite simple. For the number 99, we profile defensive end Mark Gastineau.
Gastineau arrived in New York in 1979 as a second round draft choice. He became a full-time starter at the left defensive end spot in 1980, and then went on a run of dominance that began in 1981. He was selected to the Pro Bowl every year from 1981-1985, and was named an All-Pro each year as well.
He was notably a member of the 1981 Jets’ defensive line known as the “New York Sack Exchange”. Though the stat wasn’t an official one back then, unofficially, this group racked up 66 sacks, and Gastineau was second on the team with 20 of them. He set the sack record in 1984 with 22, which stood until Michael Strahan broke it in 2001. Gastineau was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year in ’84, and MVP of the Pro Bowl after recording four sacks and a safety.
Gastineau was well-known for drawing attention to himself as well. He was known to do a dance after recording a sack, though it ended up getting banned in 1983, after a Gastineau sack against the Los Angeles Rams led to this (YouTube):
Jets’ fans loved the emotion that Gastineau brought to the game, but opponents took exception, evidenced by the melee above. However, Mark backed up that swagger with 107.5 sacks over his career, still holding the franchise record.
Fans remember Gastineau getting called for a late hit on Bernie Kosar in the 1986 AFC Divisional Playoffs against the Browns, helping Cleveland come back from a ten-point deficit and beat the Jets in double overtime. Add that to his abrupt retirement in 1988 during a whirlwind romance with Brigitte Nielsen, and many fans held resentment against him for a long time.
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He ran into some legal troubles in his days after retirement, but he has gotten back on the straight and narrow. He found religion, and he can often be seen making appearances related to the Jets, earning his way back into the fans’ good graces. The team welcomed him back with open arms, inducting Gastineau into the Ring of Honor in 2012.
He is remembered as a dominant rusher off the edge, and he is by far the best to wear the Jets’ number 99.
Honorable Mention: Bryan Thomas