25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
FOX Sports favorite forced to confirm she has not been fired amid contract uncertainty
Charissa Thompson has put to bed any doubts over her
FOX Sports
future by making it crystal clear that she will not be parting ways with the network this year.
The popular sportscaster's future
has been up in the air
since the end of the 2024
NFL
season, having confirmed back in February
that her "contract's up"
. Best friend and lead sideline reporter
Erin Andrews
had also
found herself in the same predicament
, having revealed back in September that
her FOX Sports contract
was up
following the end of the most recent
season.
Neither
Thompson
or Andrews have announced new agreements with Fox Sports but the former has now indicated that she fully expects to be back with the network for the 2025
NFL
season, where she has most recently been the host of
Fox NFL Sunday's
lead-in show, Fox NFL Kickoff.
Speaking on
a recent episode
of the Calm Down podcast,
which she co-hosts with Andrews
, Thompson made the revelation as part of a new segment called "Is This Headline Real?". "No, I am not leaving Fox," she declared to listeners. "I was never leaving Fox. I don't know where this took on a life of its own."
Thompson's comments came as a result of a recent family visit to her sprawling 75-acre
California
ranch, where at least four of them questioned how she would be able to afford the property now that she doesn't have a job, prompting her to finally quash
the rumors about her leaving Fox
.
"I wouldn't normally address this because we all get fake headlines. But no, I'm not leaving Fox, I was never leaving Fox. I'm not fired... I hope I die at [Fox]," she said. "Fox is my longest relationship. I've been there since I was 22, starting out in HR. So yes, I adore Fox and plan to wrap up my career there far into the future. But for now, those are just bogus headlines."
Thompson also has an ongoing gig with Amazon
hosting its Thursday Night Football pre and postgame show
on Prime Video. However, rumors over her Fox Sports future initially began to swirl when she let slip that her deal with the network finished after
Super Bowl LIX
.
Charissa Thompson has insisted that she will not be leaving Fox Sports this year
"I just have to say one thing. And this is also what I am going on and on about Fox, and I swear, I mean it's not just because my contract's up, I love Fox so much," she said on an episode of the "Sit Down" podcast in February.
As for Andrews, she is yet to provide any clarity surrounding her situation but her previous comments on
the retirement of Fox Sports star Jimmy Johnson
suggested that she might just be about to stay put with the network. When
praising her former colleague
for his stellar career, Andrews speculated that he might "come back" to Fox "every now and then", suggesting that she will still be there when it happens.
'He's the best,' Andrews said on the "Calm Down" podcast
in March
. 'He makes everyone feel part of the team. He makes everyone feel like they belong. I'm so grateful for that…I adore him and it doesn't feel real. It won't really feel real until we kick off the season, but I love you coach, you're amazing. I have a feeling he'll come back every now and then.'
Neither Thompson nor Andrews have confirmed new deals with Fox Sports but with both having expressed expectations of returning to the network for the next NFL season, it appears likely that an announcement regarding their futures is imminent, especially with the 2025 NFL season creeping ever closer.
