Account
Tim Tebow Spoke to XFL, Passed on Joining League to Pursue Mets Career
February 16, 2020
Tim Tebow remains a minor league baseball player in the New York Mets organization, but he had an opportunity to return to football in the XFL.
The former NFL quarterback said Sunday there was "some communication" between him and the XFL, but he turned it down:
"We had a couple of conversations. ... But for me, this is what I wanted to do and pursue it and be all-in."
Tebow last appeared in an NFL game in 2012 and has spent the past four years working on his baseball career.
The 32-year-old spent all of 2019 in Triple-A, producing a .163 batting average with four home runs in 77 games for the Syracuse Mets.
Injuries have slowed him down in his baseball career—including a laceration on his pinkie last year and a broken hamate bone in 2018—but the front office has supported his quest to get to the majors.
"He's a guy that is fueled by challenges and I think we're excited to get him back into camp and—hopefully after a trip to Syracuse—he can prove to us and everybody in baseball that he can make an impact in the big leagues," general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said last offseason, per Matthew Cerrone of SNY.
Of course, Tebow is much more well known for his football career after winning a Heisman Trophy at Florida. The 2010 first-round pick didn't perform as well in the NFL, making only 16 career starts. He last spent time in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2015 preseason but was cut before the season began.
Though the XFL would've provided an opportunity to restart his football career, it seems this ship has sailed.
Tebow's star power also could've been a huge boost for the startup league, but the XFL will hope its current players will be enough to sustain fan interest.