Shahid Khan Plays It Perfect, Gets Everything He Wanted

Tim Tebow was traded to the New York Jets, but it was Jaguars owner Shahid Khan who was the biggest winner.

As talks between the Broncos and Jets briefly stalled over money, Khan directed his front office to step in and take a stab at landing the local hero. Of course any move to trade for Tebow would have been utter disaster for the Jaguars, but Khan is a savvy businessman.

He had to try.

The Jaguars need to galvanize a diverse fan base. The real problem in Jacksonville isn't a lack of people, it's a lack of homogeneous culture. It's a beautiful place to live, and that means that people come from all over to live there. Too many people are from other places, with loyalties and allegiances to other teams, and too many of the ones who have lived there longest care about other teams, namely the Gators or the Dolphins.

The first step to winning the fans is to not aggravate a portion of the fanbase unnecessarily. By instructing his front office to inquire about Tebow, Khan achieved the first goal.

Not angering people isn't the same as winning hearts and minds, however. There's only one way to accomplish that goal: actually winning.

To that end, the best possible outcome for the Jaguars was to not land Tebow. Even if you believe Tebow will someday become a top-shelf quarterback, no one can seriously argue that he is one at this phase. There are going to be some rough stretches ahead. Make no mistake, Tebow will be on the market again. I don't think anyone sees him as a "Jet for life."

Perhaps the next time around, Tebow will actually be ready to lead a franchise and be the kind of winner on the field that he has always been off the field. When that day comes, maybe Khan will get his man.