The college football landscape changed forever on Thursday, as players were allowed to begin profiting off their name, image and likeness for the first time ever. Already, players across the country and in different sports have announced endorsement deals with companies.
But this reversal of the NCAA’s previously hardline policy on athlete compensation raises an interesting question: How much money could some of college football’s previous star players have made if this system was in place during their time?
Well, there’s been a lot of star players with large followings to come through the college level, but perhaps no player has ever fostered such a large fanbase at the collegiate level as Tim Tebow did.
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Famous for his work both on the field as a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion and off it through his philanthropic work, Tebow has managed to stay relevant for more than a decade after his career at Florida ended despite limited professional success.
When the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Tebow as a tight end this offseason, his jersey led the NFL store in sales within 24 hours. The No. 85 jersey listed for sale wasn’t even necessarily a permanent number for Tebow, but the demand was clearly there.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli wrote about how much Tebow would have benefited from being allowed to profit off NIL.
Consider for a moment that Tim Tebow had not played a snap in the NFL since the 2012 season, and yet that did not preclude him from getting a chance to play tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars this summer. Consider that, before this opportunity, Tebow was able to convince MLB teams to give him a shot as a baseball player despite not having played baseball since his junior year of high school. He then played 306 minor league games over four seasons while occasionally taking time away to fulfill his media duties, playing in the Mets organization before retiring. Why has Tebow been given these chances? Because he’s not just Tim Tebow, he’s Tim Tebow: The All-American Boy. Now, imagine what Tebow would have been able to do with that brand if he’d been able to capitalize on it while still in college winning national titles and Heisman Trophies at Florida.
There was certainly a lot of money left on the table for Tebow in college, but considering the professional contracts, endorsement arrangements and television deals he has signed since moving on from UF, he’s probably doing alright.
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