Mark Sanchez began his broadcast career in July 2019 after retiring from the NFL. Less than two years removed from that decision, he’s making a big leap forward in the sports media ranks.
Sanchez is leaving ESPN for a game analyst gig at FOX. Last month, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported that he had been offered the role, and that ESPN was looking to hang on to the former USC and New York Jets quarterback.
After leaving the NFL, Sanchez worked as a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC. He appeared on College Football Live, Get Up, and SportsCenter, and did studio work on Saturdays.
At FOX, he’s reportedly being paired with Kevin Kugler for Sunday broadcasts. He replaces Chris Spielman, who left the booth for a role with the Detroit Lions. Marchand says that Sanchez may also appear on FS1 programming.
NEWS: Mark Sanchez to Fox to be a Sunday NFL game analyst, The Post has learned.https://t.co/KhdmdyzY3X
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 12, 2021
Mark Sanchez is the latest addition in a young, revamped FOX broadcast team for NFL Sundays. He joins fellow analysts Greg Olsen, Jonathan Vilma, Mark Schlereth, and Aqib Talib, as well as play-by-play voice Adam Amin, all of whom have joined the network in the last few years.
Sanchez’s NFL career wrapped up after a decade, primarily spent as a backup. The former First-Team All-Pac 10 quarterback was the No. 6 pick by the Jets out of USC, and for a while, looked like he may be a franchise player for the team. In his first two seasons, he led the Jets to back-to-back AFC Championship berths, albeit as a game manager.
He started all but one game over the next two years with the team, but the Jets finished 14-18. He went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in the 2013 preseason, and would make just 11 starts over the next five seasons, played with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington.
The post Report: Mark Sanchez To Leave ESPN For Big New Job appeared first on The Spun.