Tim Tebow is a New York Jet

Last season Tim Tebow was a magnet for media attention and heavily scrutinized throughout the country. Prior the upcoming season, the same thing can be said. The second year quarterback is one of the most polarizing figures in the NFL. Following his trade from Denver to New York, the media circus surrounding the young superstar will only intensify in the coming months.

The Jets acquired Tim Tebow in a trade with the Denver Broncos, sending fourth and sixth-round draft choices to Denver and receiving a seventh-round pick in return. The Jets also had to pay $2.5 million to the Broncos to settle salary advances that were in Tebow’s contract in Denver.

By sheer volume, Tim Tebow’s introduction to New York was the largest news conference in the history of the Jets franchise. In this almost Super Bowl-sized news conference, he made it clear that he preferred the Jets to his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars who were also interested in the trade.

The sight of a backup quarterback getting his own news conference seemed odd. Washington Redskin Adam Carikker tweeted, “I wonder how many teams have press conferences for their backup quarterback.” But Tebow handled it well, going through the tough questions and smiling throughout the conference.

Tebow claimed it wasn’t his idea to have a full-blown news conference. “You can blame the guys upstairs,” he said with a smirk, referring to the front office. “They wanted me to do it.” Tebow also briefly spoke about his Christian faith, something that has made him much more than just a football star. He said his faith is the most important thing to him.

The quarterback did think it was funny that so much has been made of “Tebowing” in the past year. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the first athlete who has gotten on a knee and prayed.”

With Tebow being traded to a team who already has a starting quarterback in Mark Sanchez, it is easy to see that the upper management in New York is looking for future options in the quarterback position. Though Sanchez re-signed his contract weeks back and is currently the Jets starting quarterback, many fans in New York are questioning the success Sanchez will have in the coming year. Sanchez had a less than stellar season last year, and with the recent Tebow trade, fans in New York will be ready for Tebow-Time if Sanchez can’t perform.

Following Tebow’s massive press, Mark Sanchez had a conference of his own, saying he’s not concerned with being knocked from the top spot on the quarterback position. “We’re adding another player and we’re not replacing anybody,” Sanchez said.

“I think we’ll have a great relationship and, hopefully, we’ll thrive together,” said Tebow, adding that Sanchez seemed excited about the Tebow trade when they talked by phone.