NFL

Tim Tebow Has The Love Of Jesus In His Heart, More Money In His Pocket

Did you think Tim Tebow would get much playing time for the Broncos this year? Probably not, what with the “possible fourth-best quarterback on his own roster” talk during the preseason. Surely, then, you didn’t think he’d be starting – at least not on the Broncos. And the Broncos going 6-1 with Tebow as starter (granted, the majority of those wins were fueled by defense, and Tebow played terribly for a large portion of most of those games)? Never. (Well, maybe unless you’re Bill Cosby.)

But it’s all happened, the Broncos are in playoff contention, and Tebow’s back to being more of a cultural phenomenon than he’s ever been. Oh, and he’s (going to be) richer, too:

Tebow has unofficially triggered the “one-timer” bonus in his rookie contract for reaching the 45 percent playing time threshold of the Broncos’ 2011 season.

That bonus, when it officially takes effect, will net Tebow $472,500 – not too shabby. And the amount of money is really less amazing than the fact he’s getting this playing-time-based bonus at all: the same guy we all figured would languish on the bench, the same guy who’s looked lost on the field at times, the same guy whose coach admitted he’d be screwed in a more traditional NFL offense: that guy’s starting, and somehow, some way, it’s working out so far. Can it keep up? We still have our doubts, but if it does, why, we’d almost be tempted to call that a miracle.

Getty photo, by Ezra Shaw, via