# Tim Tebow
**Tim Tebow** (born 1987 in Makati City, Philippines) is an American former professional football and baseball player who won the [Heisman Trophy](https://www.edgepedia.org/heisman-trophy) as a sophomore quarterback at the [University of Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-florida), played three NFL seasons as a quarterback, and later spent four seasons in the [New York Mets](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-mets)' minor league system as an outfielder.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/) He is now a college football analyst for ESPN and the SEC Network.[3](https://www.secsports.com/news/2026/07/espn-and-tim-tebow-agree-to-multi-year-extension)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, Makati City, Philippines, to American parents serving as Baptist missionaries[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) |
| Heisman Trophy | 2007, the first sophomore in NCAA history to win it; 1,957 points and 462 first-place votes over Arkansas running back Darren McFadden[2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/) |
| 2007 season | 3,132 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and 828 rushing yards with 22 rushing touchdowns, then an SEC single-season record[2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/) |
| NFL draft | First round, 25th overall, by the Denver Broncos in 2010[4](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TeboTi00.htm) |
| NFL career | 35 games, 16 starts, 2,422 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 75.3 passer rating; 989 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns[5](https://www.nfl.com/players/tim-tebow/stats/) |
| Baseball | Signed by the Mets to a minor league contract on September 8, 2016; Double-A Eastern League All-Star in 2018; retired February 17, 2021[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/tim-tebow-signs-with-mets-c200211368) • [7](https://www.mlb.com/milb/history/tim-tebow) |
| Broadcasting | ESPN college football analyst since 2014; multi-year contract extension announced in July 2026[3](https://www.secsports.com/news/2026/07/espn-and-tim-tebow-agree-to-multi-year-extension) |
## Early life
Tebow, the youngest of five children, was born in the Philippines, where his parents worked as Baptist missionaries, and his family later settled in [Jacksonville, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacksonville-florida). He was homeschooled by his mother, played tight end at Trinity Christian Academy, and then transferred to Nease High School, where he became a nationally recognized dual-threat quarterback, led Nease to a state title in his senior season, and was named Florida's Mr. Football.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/)
## College career at Florida
Tebow enrolled at the University of Florida in 2006 and spent his freshman season as a backup to [Chris Leak](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-leak) on a team that won the BCS national championship, contributing 13 touchdowns as the Gators' second-leading rusher.[2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/)
**The 2007 Heisman season.** Taking over as the starter in 2007, Tebow ran an offense in which the quarterback was an active rushing threat and set Florida's single-game quarterback rushing record of 166 yards along with SEC single-season records for rushing touchdowns (20) and total touchdowns (55). He threw for 3,132 yards and 29 touchdowns against 6 interceptions and won the Heisman Trophy over [Darren McFadden](https://www.edgepedia.org/darren-mcfadden), breaking a streak in which only juniors and seniors had won the award.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/)
He remained productive in his final two seasons. As a junior in 2008 he led the nation in passing efficiency, finished third in the Heisman voting despite receiving the most first-place votes, and led Florida to another national championship. As a senior in 2009 he returned to New York for a fifth-place Heisman finish. At the end of his college career he held five NCAA, 14 SEC, and 28 Florida statistical records, including the record for consecutive games with both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown (14).[2](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/)
## NFL career
The Broncos selected Tebow with the 25th pick of the 2010 draft, a choice that drew wide attention because of questions about his throwing mechanics and his inexperience in a conventional drop-back passing game after running a shotgun-based spread offense in college.[4](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TeboTi00.htm) • [8](https://www.nfl.com/news/far-from-polished-tebow-still-shows-promise-in-first-start-09000d5d81d12052) He played sparingly as a rookie, starting three games and completing 41 of 82 passes for 654 yards with 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.[5](https://www.nfl.com/players/tim-tebow/stats/)
**The 2011 season.** After Denver began 1-4, Tebow replaced [Kyle Orton](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyle-orton) as the starter on October 11, 2011. In his first start he led a come-from-behind 18-15 overtime win over Miami after the Broncos trailed 15-0 with less than three minutes remaining, and he compiled a 7-4 record as a starter while leading Denver to its first playoff berth in six years.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [9](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/v1579187317/patriots/tbkhys1df2l25xzswnjb.pdf) In the wild-card round the Broncos beat the defending [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) champion [Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh-steelers), with Tebow throwing a touchdown pass on the first play of overtime, before Denver lost 45-10 to New England in the divisional round.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [10](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/american-football-tebow-s-flaws-are-exposed-in-fairy-tale-s-unhappy-ending-6290137.html) His passing accuracy remained a persistent limitation: he finished the 2011 season with a 46.5 percent completion rate, and his career completion percentage of about 47 percent stood well below modern NFL standards.[11](https://time.com/5254611/joe-montana-colin-kaepernick-nfl-draft-josh-rosen-tom-brady-greatest-of-all-time/) • [12](https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/11/29/tim-tebow)
**Later stops.** Denver signed [Peyton Manning](https://www.edgepedia.org/peyton-manning) in March 2012 and traded Tebow to the [New York Jets](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-jets), where he appeared in 12 games with 2 starts and attempted only 8 passes all season before being released in late April 2013.[5](https://www.nfl.com/players/tim-tebow/stats/) • [1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) The New England Patriots signed him in June 2013 and released him at the roster cutdown after 12 weeks, and a 2015 comeback attempt with the [Philadelphia Eagles](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-eagles) ended when he was released in early September after four preseason games.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) In 2021, after his baseball retirement, he tried a final return with his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end and was cut before the season began.[13](https://time.com/7329687/tim-tebow-demi-leigh-book-interview/)
## Professional baseball
In August 2016 Tebow announced he would pursue professional baseball, a sport he had not played competitively since high school. The Mets signed him to a minor league contract on September 8, 2016, and he reported to the fall instructional league in Port St. Lucie, where he hit a home run in his first professional at-bat.[6](https://www.mlb.com/news/tim-tebow-signs-with-mets-c200211368) • [14](https://time.com/4512873/tim-tebow-baseball-mets/) His jersey became the best seller on MLB's online store that month, ahead of established stars such as [David Ortiz](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-ortiz) and [Kris Bryant](https://www.edgepedia.org/kris-bryant).[15](https://as.com/us/us/2016/09/20/nfl/1474388878_972110.html)
His regular-season debut came in the South Atlantic League, the lowest full-season level in the Mets' farm system. He progressed to a selection as a Double-A Eastern League All-Star in 2018, though that season ended with a broken bone in his right hand. He reached Triple-A Syracuse in 2019, struggled against the stronger competition, and was again sidelined by a hand injury. The Mets announced on February 17, 2021, that he had voluntarily retired. He finished with 12 career minor league home runs, more than [Bo Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/bo-jackson) hit in his minor league career (7 in 59 games).[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [7](https://www.mlb.com/milb/history/tim-tebow) • [16](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23549013/tim-tebow-line-nfl-qb-double-all-star)
## Broadcasting and personal life
Tebow joined ESPN as a college football analyst in late 2014 and has been a fixture of SEC Network programming for more than a decade, including the traveling pregame show SEC Nation; ESPN announced a multi-year contract extension with him in July 2026.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [3](https://www.secsports.com/news/2026/07/espn-and-tim-tebow-agree-to-multi-year-extension) He founded the Tim Tebow Foundation in January 2010, a faith-based outreach organization that works with children in need in the United States and the Philippines. In January 2020 he married Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, the 2017 Miss Universe winner, in Cape Town, South Africa.[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow)
His public visibility peaked during the 2011 season, when the practice of dropping to one knee in prayer on the field, known as "Tebowing," became a cultural phenomenon, and his late-game comebacks with Denver were widely described as "Tebow Time."[1](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow) • [17](https://time.com/3827711/demarco-murray-lesean-mccoy-nfl-philadelphia-eagles-tim-tebow/)
## References
1. [Tim Tebow Biography, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/athletes/tim-tebow)
2. [Tim Tebow, Heisman Winners, Heisman Trophy Trust](https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/tim-tebow/)
3. [ESPN and Tim Tebow agree to multi-year extension, SEC Sports](https://www.secsports.com/news/2026/07/espn-and-tim-tebow-agree-to-multi-year-extension)
4. [Tim Tebow Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/T/TeboTi00.htm)
5. [Tim Tebow Stats Summary, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/players/tim-tebow/stats/)
6. [Tim Tebow signs with Mets, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/tim-tebow-signs-with-mets-c200211368)
7. [Tim Tebow's time in Minor League Baseball, MiLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/milb/history/tim-tebow)
8. [Far from polished, Tebow still shows promise in first start, NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/far-from-polished-tebow-still-shows-promise-in-first-start-09000d5d81d12052)
9. [2011 New England Patriots media guide, NFL.com](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/upload/v1579187317/patriots/tbkhys1df2l25xzswnjb.pdf)
10. [Tebow's flaws are exposed in fairy tale's unhappy ending, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/american-football-tebow-s-flaws-are-exposed-in-fairy-tale-s-unhappy-ending-6290137.html)
11. [Joe Montana Talks Colin Kaepernick, the NFL Draft, and Why Tom Brady Has It Easier Than He Did, TIME](https://time.com/5254611/joe-montana-colin-kaepernick-nfl-draft-josh-rosen-tom-brady-greatest-of-all-time/)
12. [Tebow's success due to production and protection, not magic, Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/11/29/tim-tebow)
13. [Tim and Demi-Leigh Tebow Lost Their Dream Jobs and Found Something Better, TIME](https://time.com/7329687/tim-tebow-demi-leigh-book-interview/)
14. [Tim Tebow Hits Home Run in First Pro At-Bat, TIME](https://time.com/4512873/tim-tebow-baseball-mets/)
15. [La 'Tebowmania' entra con fuerza en las Grandes Ligas, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2016/09/20/nfl/1474388878_972110.html)
16. [Tim Tebow timeline: From NFL QB to Double-A All-Star, ESPN](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23549013/tim-tebow-line-nfl-qb-double-all-star)
17. [Tim Tebow to Philly? Now Chip Kelly's Just Messing With Minds, TIME](https://time.com/3827711/demarco-murray-lesean-mccoy-nfl-philadelphia-eagles-tim-tebow/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Rugby and other football codes › American football players, coaches, and executives › Quarterbacks › 2010s quarterbacks › Quarterbacks entering the NFL 2010–2015*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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