Mark Sanchez joined Fox’s booths last season
Mark Sanchez has been taking over autumn weekends through gridiron endeavors since 2005. Those duties will now extend to the spring.
Sanchez is among the football veterans that will partake in Fox Sports’ coverage of the rebooted United States Football League that will kick off on Saturday night, the full list unveiled earlier this week. The former New York Jets quarterback will serve as the analyst for the second-string commentary team with Kevin Kugler, his booth partner during his Fox debut last NFL season.
Since retiring from professional football in July 2019, Sanchez has spent his time between ESPN and Fox’s football departments. The Jets’ former first-round pick and last green quarterback to win a playoff game has received generally positive reviews for his broadcasting performance, with some comparing his energy in the booth to the renowned enthusiasm of fellow former quarterback and CBS counterpart Tony Romo.
Play: 👉 the Jet X Offseason Simulator
In addition to his Sunday work, Sanchez also served as a studio analyst during the final year of Fox’s “Thursday Night Football” coverage.
The NFL on FOX crew offers their thoughts on Jon Gruden resigning as Raiders head coach. @curtmenefee | @JayGlazer | @michaelstrahan | @Mark_Sanchez pic.twitter.com/2S2rltwuJS
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 14, 2021
If Sanchez appears during the USFL reboot’s opening weekend, it’ll likely come in the Week 1 finale between the Tampa Bay Bandits and Pittsburgh Maulers on Sunday night (8 p.m. ET, FS1).
Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt are lined up as Fox’s top pairing, reprising their roles from the short-lived XFL reboot from 2020. They’ll have the call for the joint broadcast of the USFL’s debut game between the Birmingham Stallions and New Jersey Generals on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox/NBC).
Though there is no legal connection between the new USFL and the original edition from the mid-1980s, the league will feature several teams based on identities popularized by names like Herschel Walker and Jim Kelly. The ten-game regular season will be based entirely in the Birmingham, AL area before a four-team playoff at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
