Tim Tebow’s football career might be over but he’s not giving up on his dream of becoming a Major League Baseball player.
The former Gators Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback played for the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019 and had a .163 batting average with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 77 games before his season was prematurely ended by a hand injury.
The 32-year-old baseball prospect is now healthy again and he’s attending New York’s spring training in Florida. Tebow, who was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft, has had opportunities to return to football but he has remained committed to baseball.
Two years ago, Steve Spurrier offered Tebow a roster spot with an Orlando-based team in the Alliance of American Football. Tebow turned down the ex-Gators coach and the AFF didn’t even last a full season before folding.
More recently, the XFL approached Tebow about playing quarterback again. He turned them down, too.
“[Baseball] is what I wanted to do and pursue it and be all-in,” Tebow told the Associated Press earlier this week. “When I’m 50, I can’t come back and do this. This is part of a season and a time, and I feel I’m in that season. I don’t know when I’ll feel like I’m out.”
Tebow helped Denver win a Wild Card playoff game against the Steelers following the 2011 season. After losing to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs that year, Broncos general manager John Elway signed Peyton Manning during free agency and traded Tebow to the Jets.
Tebow lasted just one year in New York before brief stints with the Eagles and Patriots. He hasn’t been on an NFL roster since 2015. In 2016, Tebow signed with the Mets. This season marks his fifth year pursuing baseball.
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