Mark Sanchez
Updated: Wikipedia source
Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the New York Jets in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2009 NFL draft. A backup quarterback during his first three years at the University of Southern California, Sanchez rose to prominence in 2007 due to injuries suffered by starting quarterback John David Booty; he also became popular within the Los Angeles community due to his Mexican-American heritage. Sanchez was named the starter in 2008, and led USC to a 12–1 record and won the Rose Bowl against Penn State. Although USC coach Pete Carroll and many scouts considered him too inexperienced, Sanchez entered the 2009 NFL draft and was selected by the Jets in the first round. Despite a subpar first season, Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, a losing effort to the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first playoff game and the second to win two playoff games. In his second season, Sanchez again led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers; he joined Ben Roethlisberger as the only two quarterbacks in NFL history to reach the conference championship in their first two seasons in the league. The next two seasons would be a regression for both the team and Sanchez as they failed to reach the playoffs and he was eventually replaced towards the end of the 2012 season by Greg McElroy. Sanchez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the preseason in 2013; he was released after the season concluded and was subsequently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. After Eagles starter Nick Foles went down with an injury, Sanchez started the second half of the season and set career highs in completion percentage and passer rating. Nevertheless, Sanchez was unable to reestablish himself as a starter and spent one season each as a backup for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins before retiring after the 2018 season. After his playing career, Sanchez worked as an analyst for ESPN from 2019 to 2021 and for Fox Sports from 2021 until his firing in 2025.