‘I’m not leaving Fox’ aged fast: Charissa Thompson’s goodbye has Erin Andrews feeling it, too

Charissa Thompson just put it in writing. She’s in her “last few weeks at Fox,” and she did not break the news with a network announcement. She did it the way most people actually talk now, with an Instagram post and a caption that made it clear the clock is running out. Erin Andrews is not brushing it off like a normal end-of-season sign-off. On the “Calm Down With Erin and Charissa” podcast, both acknowledged the season ending hits differently this year, especially with Super Bowl LX set to air on NBC on Feb. 8, 2026. Thompson’s message was short, and it still landed hard for anyone who watches her every Sunday. She wrote: “Football , friends and the last few weeks at Fox 🫶🏽,” a caption that doubled as a goodbye. Then she spelled out why the place mattered to her, without sounding like a press statement. Thompson wrote: “I leave this studio every week thinking how, how did I get so lucky to work here with these people every week. My face hurts when I leave from laughing so much. All these pictures truly make me smile because this is “us” and not just when the lights are on but all the time!”ID@undefined Caption not available.ID@undefined Caption not available.It also closes a full-circle run. Thompson noted she started at Fox Sports when she was 23, and she’s still talking about the place like it raised her. She wrote: “I walked through the doors at Fox Sports when I was 23 and now 20 years later I still get to work here with people who are not just colleagues but family,” tying the exit to a career-long relationship, not a quick job change. What makes this hit harder is the timing. In April, Thompson sounded annoyed that people even thought she was leaving. On the podcast, she said: “No, I’m not leaving Fox. I was never leaving Fox,” and kept going until the point was unmissable. “I’m not leaving Fox. I was never leaving Fox.”Now, she is.Andrews has done the annual football goodbye plenty of times. This one sounds different because Thompson is not just heading into the offseason. She’s heading out the door.On the podcast, Thompson also tied part of the sting to the Super Bowl rotation. She said: “We [Fox] don’t have the Super Bowl this year… it sucks. Wish we had it every year because rights holders have to rotate. So this year it’s NBC,” which matches the current broadcast plan for Super Bowl LX.Thompson added: “But we got really fortunate with the way the contract work. We got two Super Bowls in three years. And my gal [Erin] over here in front of the whole country as I just get so excited like watching her anyways, don’t have the Super Bowl this year. So it’ll end at the NFC championship game. And that really bums me out,” putting a hard endpoint on their football-season rhythm.The bigger point is simple. Andrews and Thompson built a “favorite duo” reputation because they sound like real friends on air and off it, and they’ve extended that chemistry into their podcast and YouTube show. When one half of that pairing starts counting down “last few weeks,” people notice.Thompson is already doing the farewell tour in public. Andrews is already admitting it’s emotional in private. That’s the tell. This isn’t just another season ending. It’s a partnership changing shape in real time.In other news, Terry Bradshaw had an unexpected on air moment during FOX NFL Sunday when Charissa Thompson grabbed his shoulder mid discussion to get his attention, briefly catching the 77 year old off guard. The light interruption came as Bradshaw, a Pittsburgh Steelers legend, was breaking down the high stakes matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Steelers, before Thompson smoothly steered the conversation back by asking where his trust lay between Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson.