Drew Brees spent one season as an analyst for NBC, but the two sides parted ways after a poor playoff performance. Cindy Ord / Getty Images

Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees is returning to the broadcast booth on a full-time basis as a Fox NFL game analyst, which could mean that the embattled Mark Sanchez is done at the network, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic.

Brees, 46, will begin his Fox career a week from Sunday, according to the sources. His exact game assignment is not known yet. He will work as an analyst the rest of the year and is signed up to call games through at least next season. The exact terms of the deal are not yet known, but it is expected to be for multiple years. Fox and Brees have agreed and a signed contract is expected soon.

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 went to NBC, but lasted only one season before the two sides parted ways after 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.

For Fox, Brees is expected to team with play-by-play announcer Adam Amin, according to the sources. Amin’s former partner was Sanchez. Sanchez 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, 38, 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.

Both ended up in the hospital, but Sanchez was the only one charged. Sanchez, according to police, was stabbed multiple times in his upper right torso, and the driver had a large laceration on his left cheek.

Fox Sports declined to comment.

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.

While improving Fox’s depth, the Brees hire also offers potential protection in the never-ceasing No. 1 NFL game-analyst frenzy. Though Brady, a minority owner in the Las Vegas Raiders, is in only the second season of his decade-long deal, Olsen could be in line if another No. 1 job opens. Brees is working toward that, too. They are not alone.

Another future Hall of Famer, J.J. Watt, left the CBS studio to team with Ian Eagle on the network’s No. 2 booth this season. Watt, 36, has designs on potentially becoming a No. 1 game analyst.

Though ex-players such as Brees, Watt and Olsen made plenty of money, the incentive to be at the top of the NFL TV game is high. Salaries for lead NFL game-analyst positions are similar to those of players. Brady sits at the top at $37.5 million per year, and ESPN’s Troy Aikman and Tony Romo are the next highest at $18 million per season.

Brees has a playing career that is comparable to those of those former quarterbacks and seeks to resurrect his analyst career under Fox’s guidance.

Nov 5, 2025

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Andrew Marchand is a Sr. Sports Media Columnist for The Athletic. He previously worked for the New York Post and ESPN, where he predominantly covered sports media and baseball. In 2024, he won the Associated Press Sports Editors’ top national award for beat writing for his coverage of sports media. Marchand also has his own twice-weekly sports media podcast available at AndrewMarchand.com.