94 Facts About Mark Sanchez

Mark Travis John Sanchez was born on November 11,1986 and is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for 10 seasons.

Mark Sanchez played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Mark Sanchez is currently a color analyst for NFL coverage on Fox and Fox Sports 1.

Mark Sanchez suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the preseason in 2013; he was released after the season concluded and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

When Eagles starter Nick Foles went down with an injury, Mark Sanchez started the second half of the season and set career highs in completion percentage and passer rating.

Nevertheless, Mark Sanchez was unable to reestablish himself as a starter and spent one season each as backup for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins before retiring after the 2018 season.

Mark Sanchez was born in Long Beach, California to Nick Sr.

When Mark Sanchez was four, his parents divorced; Mark Sanchez and his brothers, Nick Jr.

Mark Sanchez initially lived in Whittier and Pico Rivera; when he was six, his father moved with the children to Rancho Santa Margarita, a predominantly white city in Orange County.

Mark Sanchez's father remarried and raised them strictly, seeking to influence them to become leaders.

Mark Sanchez would have to dribble a basketball without looking at it while reciting multiplication tables; practice baseball swings in a batting cage while answering questions about the periodic table and similar combined drills that his father hoped would develop quick thinking and self-confidence that would guide Mark Sanchez in all areas of life and not simply sports.

Mark Sanchez's father consulted coaches Bill Cunerty, who formerly coached at Saddleback College, and Bob Johnson, the head coach at Mission Viejo High School.

Mark Sanchez, who was attending Santa Margarita High School, joined the football team.

Under Johnson's tutelage, Mark Sanchez felt he would have a better opportunity to become a better player.

Mark Sanchez was named football player of the year by several major college recruiting services and was considered the top quarterback in the nation upon the conclusion of his high school football career in 2005.

In July 2004, Mark Sanchez announced his commitment to the University of Southern California.

Mark Sanchez was released from jail the following day and suspended.

On June 3,2006, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced no charges would be filed, and Mark Sanchez was reinstated, though he was disciplined by the football team for underage drinking and using false identification on the night he was arrested.

At the outset of the 2006 season, Mark Sanchez competed for the starting quarterback position; once Booty, a junior, suffered severe back spasms caused by a pre-existing back condition, surgery was required and Mark Sanchez was promoted to run the first-team offense during the spring as Booty recovered.

Mark Sanchez saw additional action against Arizona, Michigan, and Notre Dame but he did not attempt a pass in those contests.

In fall practice, before USC's 2007 season, Mark Sanchez broke his right thumb, missing the first game against Idaho; he returned the following week and served as the primary backup to Booty.

Mark Sanchez earned limited playing time in wins against Nebraska and Washington State.

In spite of a myriad of mistakes committed by his teammates in addition to his own, Mark Sanchez publicly accepted blame for the loss.

Mark Sanchez did not perform in subsequent games and finished the season with 695 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions.

Mark Sanchez entered spring practice after the 2008 season as the front-runner to take over the starting quarterback position, but faced strong competition from redshirt freshman Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain, a transfer from Arkansas, where he had been the starting quarterback; Mustain, like Mark Sanchez, was named the top quarterback in the nation upon the conclusion of high school career in 2006.

Mark Sanchez won the 2009 Rose Bowl Most Valuable Player award for his performance on offense; his 413 passing yards ranked second in the history of the Rose Bowl and fourth in Trojan history.

On January 15, Mark Sanchez announced his plans to forgo his final year of college eligibility and enter the 2009 NFL Draft, although he continued as a USC student and completed work on his degree in the spring of 2009 while preparing for the draft.

Mark Sanchez became the first USC quarterback to leave school early for the NFL since Todd Marinovich did so after the 1990 season.

Mark Sanchez hired his older brother and business litigator, Nick Mark Sanchez, to be his agent alongside David Dunn, who represented Carson Palmer.

Mark Sanchez received an invitation to the 2009 Scouting Combine, where his performance was well received.

Mark Sanchez was ranked as one of the top two quarterbacks, behind fellow junior Matthew Stafford from the University of Georgia.

Mark Sanchez reached an agreement with the team on June 10,2009, signing a five-year, $50 million contract, with $28 million guaranteed.

Mark Sanchez started his first regular season NFL game against the Houston Texans on September 13,2009, throwing his first touchdown pass, a 30-yard reception, to wide receiver Chansi Stuckey.

Mark Sanchez was named the Pepsi Rookie of the Week for his performance in the game, the first of three consecutive Rookie of the Week awards.

Mark Sanchez completed his rookie season with 2,444 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.

Mark Sanchez became the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first postseason contest, and the second to do so on the road.

Mark Sanchez became only the second rookie quarterback to win two consecutive playoff games, behind Joe Flacco.

Mark Sanchez was named to Sporting News' All-Rookie team for his performance during the season, becoming the first Jets quarterback to ever receive the award.

On February 17,2010, Mark Sanchez underwent surgery to repair the patella ligament in his left knee that he originally injured when he played for USC.

Mark Sanchez was expected to miss early workouts and return in time for training camp however Mark Sanchez made a quick recovery and participated in team drills during Organized Team Activities.

Mark Sanchez recorded his first career 300-yard passing game in a win over the Detroit Lions on November 7,2010.

Mark Sanchez earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his Week 11 game against the Houston Texans.

Mark Sanchez finished the season with 3,291 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.

Additionally, Mark Sanchez drew criticism for his difficulties to effectively throw the ball to his receivers.

Holmes was benched in the fourth quarter while Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions in the Jets' loss that eliminated the team from playoff contention for the first time in Mark Sanchez's career.

Statistically, Mark Sanchez had similar numbers in a comparison to Eli Manning when he concluded his third year of football however, there were concerns that Mark Sanchez was simply an ineffective quarterback and therefore expendable.

The play that earned Mark Sanchez the most criticism was a second-quarter fumble where he ran into the backside of lineman Brandon Moore and the Patriots scored on the resulting fumble; this play, becoming widely known as the butt fumble, was mocked in the media.

Mark Sanchez started the next week, but was benched in the third quarter of the Jets' contest against the Arizona Cardinals on December 2,2012, in favor of third string back-up Greg McElroy.

Rex Ryan renamed Mark Sanchez the starting quarterback the following Wednesday after seeking out multiple opinions within the organization.

Mark Sanchez returned to complete 12 his 19 passes for 111 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, fumbling once that led to a Jaguar field goal.

Mark Sanchez started the Jets' final game against the Buffalo Bills after McElroy revealed he had been experiencing concussion symptoms in the days preceding.

Mark Sanchez suffered a shoulder injury on August 24,2013, in the Jets' third game of the preseason against the New York Giants after being tackled by nose tackle Marvin Austin.

The Jets, who drafted rookie quarterback Geno Smith in the 2013 NFL Draft, named Smith the starter on September 4 with Mark Sanchez still rehabilitating his injury.

On September 14,2013, Mark Sanchez was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return.

Mark Sanchez signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 29,2014, for a 1-year, $2.25 million contract.

Ironically, Mark Sanchez would get his first playing time when Bradford was playing his best football of the season.

Mark Sanchez was announced as the starter for the Eagles in the Week 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after it was revealed that Bradford suffered a separated shoulder and a concussion.

Mark Sanchez continued to play well for the majority of the 1st half, and threw a second touchdown pass to Darren Sproles, but the Buccaneers offense had already scored 21 points.

However, after that drive, Mark Sanchez started to crumble, throwing an interception near the end of the second quarter.

On March 11,2016, Mark Sanchez was traded to the Denver Broncos for a 2017 conditional draft pick.

On September 3,2016, Mark Sanchez was released by the team.

On September 3,2016, hours after the Broncos released him, Mark Sanchez signed a one-year $2 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys, who were looking to have a veteran presence behind rookie Dak Prescott, who was named the starter at quarterback while Tony Romo recovered from a vertebral compression fracture he suffered during the first quarter of the Cowboys' Week 3 preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Prescott played the first two series of the game, Romo played the third, and Mark Sanchez played the rest of the game.

On March 23,2017, Mark Sanchez signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears.

The Bears had noted the "positive influence" Mark Sanchez had as a mentor to rookie quarterback Dak Prescott and looked for him to play a similar role in the development of rookie Mitchell Trubisky.

On May 30,2017, Mark Sanchez suffered a small knee injury in his left knee.

Mark Sanchez missed the remainder of OTA's and the minicamp.

Mark Sanchez made the Bears' final roster third on the quarterback depth chart behind Trubisky and Mike Glennon, but did not play at all in 2017.

Mark Sanchez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and cited "unknowing supplement contamination" in his statement to the media following the suspension.

On November 19,2018, Mark Sanchez signed with the Washington Redskins to serve as the backup to Colt McCoy, after starter Alex Smith suffered a season-ending leg injury.

Mark Sanchez completed 13 passes from 21 attempts for 100 yards and an interception.

Mark Sanchez became the starter after McCoy fractured his fibula in the game.

Mark Sanchez announced his retirement on July 23,2019, and subsequently took a position with ESPN's college football coverage.

In mid 2021, Mark Sanchez moved from ESPN to Fox where he calls NFL games and appears on FS1 studio shows.

On October 15,2020, Mark Sanchez was revealed to have partaken in season four of The Masked Singer performing as the "Baby Alien", the show's first costume to incorporate a puppet.

Early in his career, Mark Sanchez was praised for his ability to maintain composure in the pocket amidst defensive pressure and focus on finding an open receiver to extend the team's offensive series.

Mark Sanchez's regression was mainly attributed to his poor accuracy, a byproduct of his indecisive mentality once the ball is snapped, and the fact the Jets did little to help surround Sanchez with the talent to overcome his shortcomings.

Ron Jaworski commented that Mark Sanchez had lost his confidence which contributed to his decline.

Mark Sanchez was a presenter at the 2010 Tony Awards, where he introduced a number from the Broadway musical Memphis.

Mark Sanchez has been involved in multiple charities including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to help raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes and Sam's Club's Giving Made Simple which, helps raise awareness about childhood obesity and how families can prevent it.

Mark Sanchez has worked with the Teddy Atlas Foundation through which he met Aiden Binkley, a terminally ill 11-year-old struck with rhabdomyosarcoma.

Mark Sanchez developed a bond with Binkley and the two remained close friends until Binkley's death in December 2010.

Mark Sanchez's father is a fire captain for the Orange County Fire Authority and a member of the national urban search and rescue team.

In college, Nick Mark Sanchez played quarterback for East Los Angeles College and was later a sergeant in the United States Army.

Mark Sanchez dated model and current wife of Sean Avery, Hilary Rhoda for several years.

In June 2016, a lawsuit filed by US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Mark Sanchez's broker conducted a "ponzi-like scheme" which defrauded Mark Sanchez, as well as Roy Oswalt and Jake Peavy, out of 30 million.

When Mark Sanchez was elevated to prominence at USC, he found himself a symbol of Mexican-American identity and a role model for younger generations.

Mark Sanchez was placed on center stage in Los Angeles, home to more than 4.6 million Hispanics, the majority of whom are of Mexican descent.

Mark Sanchez's rise to fame within the Mexican-American community was compared to that of boxer Oscar De La Hoya and baseball pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.

Mark Sanchez, who was born and raised in the United States, received hate mail urging him to return to Mexico.

Mark Sanchez, who knew how to speak some Spanish but was not fluent, began to take Spanish lessons during his junior year at USC so he could have conversations without the use of a translator.

The USC band played "El Matador" when Mark Sanchez would come onto the field.

Mark Sanchez serves as the Ambassador to the Inner-City Games Los Angeles, an after-school program that provides "at-risk youth" with positive, alternative activities.

The agreement came about due to Mark Sanchez's continued popularity in California.