Jets could save money by trading Tim Tebow

If the Jets want to save some money, they could look to trade Tim Tebow. They might be able to save over $1.5 million by dealing the folk hero/quarterback, great news for a team that’s well over the salary cap.

When the Jets traded for Tebow, fresh off a miracle season when he led a defensively sound Broncos squad to a playoff victory, they took on a commitment to pay the Broncos $1.53. Tebow’s rookie contract had unique provisions that called for the Broncos to pay his 2013 salary in advance, and they did, but now the Jets hypothetically owe the Broncos for that previously paid salary. However, after a season where Tebow played some sparing Wildcat quarterback, served as the team’s punt protector, and generally didn’t make an impact, they might be looking to noodle out of paying Tebow and the Broncos.

As Mike Klis of the Denver Post writes, if the Jets simply cut Tebow, they’d save the $1.03 million Tebow is owed for the upcoming season, but they’d still be on the hook for that $1.53 million. However, if they trade him, they could ask their trade partner to pay the Broncos. But that seems like a tough sell, as not only would they be asking a team to give something up to get a quarterback whose skills have been questioned and couldn’t crack the starting spot on a team with one of the least-efficient quarterbacks in the NFL, they’d be asking for extra cash. With the Tebow experiment failed and a new GM in charge, the Jets will likely be looking to dump the backup quarterback. But it will be interesting to see if they can get another team to bite or whether they’ll be saddled with even more unnecessary financial commitments.

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