Tim Tebow, much obsessed about Heisman Trophy winner, football pundit and host of Fox competition series Home Free, is not ruling out a return to pro football. The famously pious QB won a national championship at the University of Florida and was a first-round pick for the Denver Broncos but never found his niche in the NFL.
Addressing the press June 10, Tebow was asked if his TV work, which includes an appearance on Lip Sync Battle (he “sang” “Eye of the Tiger”) and assorted punditry on SportsCenter and ESPN Radio, signaled that the door on his football dreams had shut.
He said his appearance on Spike’s Lip Sync Battle was “super fun,” but was non-committal in his answer. “If God opens the right door, you walk in,” he said. “If he doesn’t, you continue to find the right path (that He presents).”
Tebow was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2010, but the hulking footballer became more famous for his displays of faith—taking a knee and having a quick prayer, or “Tebowing”, in the parlance of the time—than his football heroics. He also played for the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, but the awkwardly slinging lefty did not establish himself as an NFL quarterback.
Season two of Home Free debuts June 16, with Tebow co-hosting alongside Mike Holmes. Eleven contestants build houses, including a “Dream Home,” and compete to win the dream manse for their hero, and cash for themselves.
Tebow said the (mostly) selfless nature of the show attracted him. “So much is about me, me, me—how can I get mine?” he said. “This show totally is about giving to other people, and that’s pretty cool.”
He also said there’s not much on TV that a family can watch together. “Just the giving factor of it—that someone else has needs above your own, and you’re acting on their behalf,” he said. “That overarching theme was what really drew me to this.”
So unfailingly kind was Tebow while addressing reporters that one may wonder how he ever thrived in the brutal football arena. “More than anything, I want the takeaway to be that it can be cool to love and sacrifice for other people,” said Tebow. “I believe it’s more blessed to give than to receive.”
