NFL Clearly Wants Tebow Starting For Jets
By Sam Zuba-
(CBS) What do Luke McCown, Tyrod Taylor and Tim Tebow have in common?
They're all back-up quarterbacks in the National Football League. Now, what's one aspect in which they differ?
Well, to start, only one of those quarterbacks has an entire page on NFL.com dedicated solely to their play. That's right, NFL.com recently released an entire web page that highlights every single one of Tebow's plays.
Every. Single. Play.
Every snap, every block, every complete and incomplete pass - it's all there for the fan who just can't get enough of Tebow Time.
Traded to the Jets in the offseason, Tebow currently sits as New York's second quarterback, but that's not stopping the NFL from getting their money's worth off the former Florida Gator.
There's never been a player quite like Tebow to set foot on a football field. He's one of the most polarizing players to ever put on shoulders pads, and the NFL knows it and is willing to do whatever it can to capitalize.
The interesting part of all of this, however, is on the field, Tebow's nothing out of the ordinary.
In 25 career games, he's completed 47.3 percent of his passes for 17 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a passer rating of 75.1.
Though his numbers are mediocre at best, Tebow commands attention from fans, haters and simply the curious all across the NFL
Don't believe me?
In 2011, Tebow's Broncos jersey was the second-best selling jersey in the NFL, behind only the then-reigning Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Couple that with the fact that Tebow set a Twitter record for the most tweets per second after his 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime lifted the Broncos over the Steelers in the first round of playoffs last season, and you have something pretty unique.
Twitter reported 9,420 Tebow-related tweets were sent per second after the Broncos' score.
That's why the NFL created Tebow Zone. Fans literally cannot get enough of No. 15. Having Tebow sit behind Mark Sanchez hurts the NFL's product and their ability to capitalize on one of its most lucrative assets.
Creating Tebow Zone keeps the quarterback's presence alive. If Jets head coach Rex Ryan chooses to sit Tebow - much to the chagrin of the NFL - the league can still push this page on it's fans via social media and the various other channels it controls.
The NFL's brass aren't stupid. They know how much Tebow is worth - and it's a heck of a lot more than the roughly $2 million the Jets are paying him right now.
Sam Zuba is the Sports Content Producer for CBSChicago.com. You can follow him on Twitter @SamZuba.
