Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports broadcaster Mark Sanchez faces a new charge of felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury after he was arrested on several charges and himself hospitalized in a stabbing incident in downtown Indianapolis early Saturday morning.
The new charge, a level 5 felony which could carry a 1-to-6-year prison sentence, was announced by officials on Monday morning.
Sanchez had been in Indianapolis to call Sunday’s Raiders-Colts game for Fox Sports but instead was arrested and charged with misdemeanor counts of battery resulting in injury, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, and public intoxication. According to court documents, police later obtained a warrant to seize Sanchez’s phone and clothing from the hospital.
What to Know
Sanchez was pepper-sprayed and stabbed multiple times during a late-night confrontation with a 69-year-old truck driver in a downtown Indianapolis alley, according to police and court records filed Sunday. The altercation left both men injured and resulted in misdemeanor criminal charges against Sanchez.
According to an affidavit, Sanchez was intoxicated when he approached the driver of a box truck that had backed into a hotel’s loading dock early Saturday. Surveillance video showed Sanchez following the driver from one side of the truck to the other before grabbing and throwing him toward a wall, police said. The fight continued near a dumpster, where Sanchez allegedly threw the man to the ground.
The document said Sanchez climbed into the truck but got out when told he wasn’t allowed inside. Sanchez claimed he had spoken with a hotel manager and didn’t want the driver to replace fryer oil, the affidavit said. When he tried again to get into the truck and blocked the driver from calling his manager, the driver pulled out pepper spray and used it on Sanchez.
Sanchez wiped his face and came toward the driver again, prompting the driver to draw a knife and stab Sanchez several times, police said.
“The next thing [the driver] knew was Mr. Sanchez looked at him with a look of shock, he slowly turned around, and Mr. Sanchez took off northbound in the alley,” the affidavit stated.
Sanchez suffered stab wounds to his upper right torso and was hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said. The driver, identified in court records only as P.T., sustained a cut to his cheek.
Police obtained a warrant to seize Sanchez’s phone and clothing from the hospital while filing the weekend misdemeanor charges.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said Sunday his office would “follow the facts and the law wherever they lead.”
He added, “What began as a disagreement between a 38-year-old former professional athlete and a 69-year-old man should not have escalated into violence or left anyone seriously injured.”
Sanchez’s initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday in Marion County. As of Sunday, no attorney was listed for him in court records.
The former Southern California standout was drafted fifth overall by the New York Jets in 2009 and played 10 NFL seasons, also spending time with Philadelphia, Dallas, and Washington before retiring in 2019. He later worked as a college football analyst for ABC and ESPN before joining Fox Sports in 2021.
Sanchez, a native of Long Beach, California, is married to actor Perry Mattfeld, known for roles in “Shameless,” “In the Dark,” and “Chad Powers.” The couple welcomed twin daughters in March, Mattfeld told Glamour magazine earlier this year.
Updates: 10/6/25, 11:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
