Sanchez grew up in a well-disciplined and athletic family. A well-regarded high school prospect, Sanchez committed to the University of Southern California following his successful high school career in which he led his team to a championship title during his final season. Named the starter at USC in 2008, Sanchez led USC to a 12–1 record and won the Rose Bowl against Penn State for which Sanchez was awarded the Most Valuable Player award for his performance on offense.

Sanchez was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection by the New York Jets and was named the starting quarterback prior to the start of the season. Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, a losing effort to the Indianapolis Colts, becoming the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history to win his first playoff game and the second to win two playoff games. He was named to the Sporting News All-Rookie team for his performance during the season.  In his second season, Sanchez continued to develop and led the Jets to the playoffs and the team's second consecutive AFC Championship Game where they narrowly lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24–19.  Sanchez joined quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the first two quarterbacks in NFL history to reach the conference championship in their first two seasons in the league.