I seen a interview yesterday with John Elway and he admitted when asked that Tebow was the biggest reason their season turned around which made Manning look at Denver as a contender and then picked them. I am glad he is giving credit where credit is due, the team won together but without Tebow there I really don’t think the Broncos would have won many games last year.
Thanks again Brooke, and go Tebow!
]]>I was confused about what happened w/the trade, especially after Tim’s agent publicly said that Tim chose the Jets. But 3 articles I found explain what happened:
Here are the key quotes from a Michael Lombardi article on nfl(dot)com, about why Tim chose the Jets over the Jags:
“But the Jags’ football people hated Tebow as a player. They wanted nothing to do with him, regardless of his ability to generate interest.”
“By the end of the day, Denver had two offers on the table — one from the Jets, one from the Jags. The Broncos, according to my sources, felt it would be in everyone’s best interest to allow Tebow to pick his team.
Why did Tebow pick the Jets and not his hometown team? It’s simple: The Jets wanted him. Remember a column I wrote back in August about player sponsorship? The Jets were willing to sponsor Tebow, from their front office down to their coaches, and the Jags were not. Tebow made the right choice for his career.”
And here are quotes from a NY Daily News article:
“Tebow was in Los Angeles on Wednesday working out with UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. Throughout the day, when the Jets and Broncos were bickering over $5 million and the Jaguars jumped into the mix, Tebow was in constant communication with Denver coach John Fox.
He told Fox that he preferred to be traded to the Jets over the Jags, his hometown team. Tebow was turned off to the Jaguars because only new owner Shad Khan wanted him, sources told the Daily News. Jacksonville GM Gene Smith, new head coach Mike Mularkey and his top offensive assistants were adamantly against trading for Tebow. The Jags have the worst quarterback situation in the league with Blaine Gabbert, a bust as their No. 1 pick last year, and newly signed Chad Henne, but the coaches didn’t want Tebow.
The Jets were all-in on Tebow: owner Woody Johnson, Tannenbaum, Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano all agreed to pursue him. That wasn’t the case in Jacksonville — and it’s tough to work in an environment where you are not wanted. Even if Khan ordered Smith to trade for Tebow and then ordered Mularkey to play him — the Jags are in desperate need of a marketing boost — it would have been an unbearable situation for Tebow. The Rams and Packers were also interested, but Tebow had no shot at playing time in either spot, and both dropped out early.
The Broncos didn’t come to Tebow in the end and say: Okay Tim, where do you want to go? They had already solicited his opinion. The Jets’ and Jaguars’ offers to the Broncos were similar: The Jets offered $2.53 million and fourth- and sixth-round picks in exchange for Tebow and a seventh-round pick. The Jags offered $3 million and a fourth-round pick. Tebow was impressed the Jets hung in there when it looked like the deal was falling apart: It convinced him how much the Jets wanted him.
The Broncos sent Tebow to the Jets because he told Fox that’s the deal he wanted, although if the Jags’ offer had been significantly better, John Elway would have traded him to Jacksonville.”
And in another nfl(dot)com article, Khan explained the reason he didn’t offer a 3rd round draft pick was b/c he knew Tim didn’t want to go to the Jags:
‘Jaguars owner Shahid Khan isn’t a member of the sobbing chorus. In fact, he’s under the impression he dodged a bullet.
“That would have been the worst thing for Jacksonville and the worst thing for him,” Khan told The Florida Times-Union on Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting. “He didn’t want to come, obviously. … Any one of the 53 players we have, have to be committed to Jacksonville, making us be the best team we are. The question was: Did he want to come? And if the decision had been taken out (of his hands) and we got him, that would not be good for him, or for us.”‘
Tim told the Broncos that he wanted to go to the Jets, not the Jags, &, thankfully, they accommodated his request. I know it seems hard to believe that Elway & Co chose to do Tim a favor, but doing right by Tim is undoubtedly also good PR for them, and they did send Tim where he wanted to go. For that, I’m grateful.
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