Fox Sports on Friday announced the hiring of Drew Brees and confirmed the exit of Mark Sanchez.
In a statement given to multiple publications Friday, Fox Sports confirmed that Mark Sanchez “is no longer with the network” and gave no further comment. Sanchez had been with Fox since 2021, joining the network as an NFL analyst and FS1 contributor after a previous stint with ESPN/ABC.
Sanchez was in Indianapolis to cover an NFL game for FOX last month when he was involved in a bizarre late night confrontation that resulted in him being stabbed, hospitalized, arrested, charged, sued and now out of a job. He had not been on FOX since the incident.
Confirmation of Sanchez’ exit came the same day that Fox officially announced its hire of Drew Brees, who will fill the vacancy Sanchez left alongside play-by-play voice Adam Amin and sideline reporter Kristina Pink. Brees will debut a week from Sunday, as Amin and Pink are overseas this week working Falcons-Colts from Berlin for NFL Network in a blended broadcast team that also includes NFL Network talent Kurt Warner and Stacey Dales.
Brees will be Amin’s fourth partner in just 11 weeks this NFL season, joining Sanchez, Greg Olsen and Warner.
The FOX role marks Brees’ debut as a full-time NFL game analyst. During his one season with NBC from 2021-22, Brees primarily served as a game analyst on Notre Dame football. He called only two NFL games, both of them in high-profile windows — one on Thanksgiving night and the other on Wild Card weekend.
“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, just waiting for the right opportunity,” Brees told WWL Radio this week. “I’ve got great relationships with a lot of the networks, had conversations over the years, but really like Brad Zager and everybody at FOX, had a chance to do some things with them this year specifically. Just really like the culture there, really like the fit, great opportunity.”
His FOX debut will come about a month before his previously scheduled commitment to call one of the two Christmas Day NFL games for Netflix.
