Fox Sports officially parted ways with broadcaster and former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic.
“We can confirm that Mark Sanchez is no longer with the network,” a Fox spokesperson said. “There will be no further comment at this time.”
Brees, 46, will work as an analyst the rest of the year and is signed up to call games through at least next season. The move gives Fox a big-name one-two-three punch for its NFL Sunday game slate, with Brees joining top analysts Tom Brady and Greg Olsen.
After retiring in 2020, Brees joined NBC, but the two sides parted ways after just one season due to a poor playoff performance. Since then, Brees has often said he thinks he can be one of the best game analysts in the business, but has stayed on the sidelines.
Though he has worked studio shows for Fox and ESPN, he called the international feed for Netflix’s Christmas Day NFL game stream. This Christmas, he has been promoted to the domestic broadcast on Netflix.
Brees is expected to team with play-by-play announcer Adam Amin, according to the sources, who is Sanchez’s former partner. Sanchez, 38, has been off the air for a month after being arrested over his role in a late-night fight in Indianapolis in early October.
Sanchez pleaded not guilty to Level 5 felony battery charges in Marion County after the incident, in which he was stabbed and hospitalized. Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis to call the Colts game for Fox, had a late-night physical confrontation with a 69-year-old truck driver.
Fox has pursued Brees since the former quarterback’s breakup with NBC. Before Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million contract, Fox considered Brees for its No. 2 game analyst position, with Olsen in the top spot.
Even after Brady entered the booth and the well-respected Olsen moved to the second team, Fox Sports executive producer Brad Zager continued developing the network’s relationship with Brees.
If Brees truly wanted to be considered as a No. 1 analyst again, he needed to return to the booth regularly, not just make proclamations on talk shows that he could do it. Now, he will have the opportunity to prove his capabilities.