More than a decade after he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the first round with the 25th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, Tim Tebow has announced his retirement from pro … baseball.
Tebow, who quit the NFL after spending the 2015 preseason with the Philadelphia Eagles but failing to make the team, officially gave up his dream of being a pro ballplayer after spending five injury-plagued years as a minor leaguer trying to make it to the majors with the New York Mets.
“I want to thank the Mets, Mr. Alderson, the fans and all my teammates for the chance to be a part of such a great organization,” Tebow said in a statement released by the Mets. “I loved every minute of the journey, but at this time I feel called in other directions. I never want to be partially in on anything. I always want to be 100 percent in on whatever I choose. Thank you again for everyone’s support of this awesome journey in baseball, I’ll always cherish my time as a Met.”
Though his career started with a bang, Tebow batted .223/.299/.338 with 107 runs scored, 48 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, 107 RBI and five stolen bases in 287 games in the minors as an outfielder.
A national star after winning the national championship twice while he was the quarterback for the University of Florida, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner began working at ESPN in 2013 as a college football analyst and worked in broadcasting throughout his time pursuing a chance to play major league baseball.
It seems likely Tebow will continue on in that role going forward and that he may eventually get more airtime on The Worldwide Leader due to his high-profile status. He has also been involved in some other TV projects and could also probably make a pretty penny simply by doing speaking engagements related to his Christian faith.
Tebow and his wife, South African model Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, also have not had children yet but do plan on starting a family.
Although Tebow wasn’t able to fulfill his goal of becoming an MLB ballplayer, he was able to pursue his dream job for five years while also collecting a check to analyze college football for ESPN. Now that the dream is over, he’ll land on his feet the same way he did after his dream of being an NFL quarterback came to an end.
Someone will want to harness the “Tebow Effect” to their advantage going forward — it just won’t involve putting him on the football field or baseball diamond.
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