Tim Tebow is a member of the New York Mets.
The Heisman-winning quarterback will be sent to the Instructional League to begin his professional baseball career, according to a tweet from the Mets:
ESPN was the first to report Thursday that Tebow had been signed to a minor league deal. He has been a college-football analyst at ESPN since December 2013. No word on whether he will miss time from his duties on the SEC Network.
The Atlanta Braves were among the teams that had expressed an interest in signing Tebow. It is unclear if the Braves made a formal offer, despite reports stating that general manager John Coppollela considered there was "no risk" in adding Tebow.
Tebow, 29, hasn’t played baseball since his junior year in high school 11 years ago, but the former Florida Gators star is attempting to forge a pro career as an outfielder. He held an individual workout last week in Los Angeles that was attended by representatives of 28 of 30 major league teams.
The muscular, 255-pound former NFL quarterback impressed with his raw power – he hit one long home run during the workout — and above-average speed, though his swing and defensive skills would presumably need work.
Tebow won two national championships with the Florida Gators. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2010, but has not played in the NFL since 2012 with the New York Jets. He went to training camp with the New England Patriots in 2013 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015 but did not claim a roster spot either time.
Reaction to the team's signing sparked some interesting commentary on social media, including a tweet from a New York Times baseball writer:
