(Reuters) – Former National Football League quarterback Tim Tebow has been signed by the New York Mets to a minor league baseball contract, the team said on Thursday.
Tebow, 29, who played in the NFL for three years before becoming a television broadcaster, recently showcased his baseball skills for scouts and the media in a bid to launch a second sports career. The Mets’ official Twitter account said Tebow was signed to a minor league contract and will participate in the team’s Instructional League.
An All-State baseball player in Florida in 2005, Tebow hit .494 as a high school junior, playing outfield. He helped Nease High School reach the final four of the Florida state playoffs.
Tebow did not play baseball as a high school senior or at the University of Florida, where in 2007 he won the Heisman Trophy as the top U.S. college football player before leading the Gators to a national championship in the 2008 season. He played three years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets before his football career stalled. ESPN hired him as a football analyst in late 2013.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington and Laila Kearney in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Reuters
