Ex-NY Jet Mark Sanchez Retires From NFL, Joins ESPN

Mark Sanchez, the former New York Jets quarterback, has retired from the NFL and joined ESPN as a college football analyst.

Sanchez, who is a Christian, will be ABC/ESPN’s lead college football studio analyst, the New York Post reported. Sanchez played 10 years in the NFL. He was drafted fifth overall by the Jets in 2009, taking the team to back-to-back AFC Championship games, a move that caught many people by surprise.

Sanchez spoke to The Increase about his faith in Christ and what it means when he decreases and Christ increases.

“The more you decrease yourself the more you let Christ take over. When that happens, suddenly things take place in your life that you can’t explain — I see that in my life all the time,” Sanchez said in the report. “I know that God is in control and the closer to God that I get, the more He blesses me. That doesn’t mean that there is not adversity, but in either adversity of success, I always find that God is greater.”

Sanchez bounced around a lot during his NFL career. He spent time with the Eagles, Cowboys, Bears, and Redskins. In two games with the Redskins last season, Sanchez was 19-for-35 for 128, no touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Keeping His Eyes On The Lord

Sanchez has kept his eyes on the Lord throughout his life and career. When he spoke with The Increase, he quoted Jeremiah 17:7 and 8: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and it not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit,” and Matthew 6:34: “There do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Associated Press writer Rob Maaddi wrote about Sanchez in his book, “Football Faith: 52 NFL Stars Reflect on Their Faith.”

“When the Eagles signed him last year and I had an opportunity to sit down and talk to Mark, he shared his story, Maddi told The Christian Post. “It was very similar to mine. He had a lot of the issues that I had back in my life that I had to overcome. I knew he had come a long way and God had impacted his life.”

By Daniel Hubbard, editor