New York Jets Will Pay Tim Tebow More in 2013 Than New England Patriots

The New England Patriots signed Tim Tebow to a two year contract last week for $1.385 million. The Patriots got a great deal because none of that contract is guaranteed. So if the Patriots decided Tebowmania isn’t worth the headache, they can walk away.

This is a lesson the New York Jets wish they’d learned prior to acquiring Tim Tebow.

The Jets agreed to repay the Denver Broncos for a portion of a $6.277 million salary advance Tebow had received in 2011, the Jets portion was $2,531,875.

The New York Jets paid $1 million in 2012, and are scheduled to pay the difference of $1,581,875 this season. That number is clearly higher than what the Patriots 2 year deal with Tebow is worth.

Once you factor in his workout bonuses the total is $140,000 more that the New York Jets will pay Tim Tebow than the Patriots will pay for the quarterback over the next two seasons.

This could be part of why it was so hard to trade Tim Tebow in the first place. By releasing Tebow instead of trading him they had to eat that $1.5 million instead of sending it to Tebow’s next team.

So the Patriots might have gotten a good deal on the quarterback. Still it isn’t quite the scenario you see in baseball when a player is traded to another team and their former team is still paying part of their active salary.