Tim Tebow is currently one of the most famous and influential athletes in America.
The AA minor league star might not have the baseball athleticism of Angels’ Mike Trout, and he definitely couldn’t throw the football like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but Tebow’s unapologetic devotion to the Christian faith has been an inspiration to millions of Americans and that’s what makes him an icon.
And now he just earned that status with this incredible feat.
There’s something alluring about Tim Tebow’s persona that’s magnetic and lovable. He just seems like one of the nicest people in the world, doesn’t he?
Whether he was the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback of the Florida Gators and played on two BCS National Championship teams, or the quarterback for the Denver Broncos when he shocked the world with an unlikely upset over the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers during the divisional round of the 2011-12 playoffs, or even just playing baseball on the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies minor league team – his very presence sells tickets because he’s box-office material.
And when Tebow was announced as a member of the All-Star team of the AA baseball league—in just his second year—tickets for the game went through the roof.
A ticket sales website named Fandemonium called it the “Tebow Effect,” because when he snatched a roster spot for the Eastern League All-Star Game, tickets went up by almost 600-percent on Vivid Seats.
What are usually about $20 tickets shot up to an impressive $115 after his name was added to the list.
Tim Tebow has undoubtedly been one of minor league baseball’s biggest stars since he started playing in the fall of 2017.
In fact, the last time attendance turnout was higher than this was approximately 24 years ago.
Only one man, appropriately, has had a bigger pull than Tebow—and that was the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan.
In 1994, with the sudden death of his father, the Bulls MVP retired from the NBA and sought a career in baseball because his father was a lover of the sport.
The Birmingham Barons’ 1994 season attendance of 467,868 fans, with an average of 6,884 fans per game, still stands as a franchise and league record. And although Tebow’s popularity hasn’t filled that many seats—yet—to be 2nd in line to the GOAT in basketball is unbelievably impressive. It speaks volumes about his celebrity status in America.
In 2017, Tebow was the greatest value in all of sports. The New York Mets paid his salary – $10,000 for the season – and the Fireflies reaped the benefits, including merchandise revenue.
Baseball America calculated that Tebow was worth nearly $1.6 million in additional tickets, parking, concessions, and other revenue for the rest of the South Atlantic League.
At most venues, Tebow went down the line and signed every autograph until he was finished. That’s the kind of guy he is, and that kind of humility is why people really love him.
And unlike Michael Jordan, Tebow is a really good baseball player,with one heck of a month in June.
In his last 10 games, his batting average is a staggering .323, with one homerun and 7 RBI.
Over the course of the season, his totals are a .257 batting average, with 5 homeruns and 30 RBI.
There are talks now that Tebow could be a major leaguer soon, which his critics didn’t see coming.
But that’s what Tebow does, right? He proves his critics wrong.
What an incredible feat.