Tim Tebow's new Mets jersey is selling like crazy

Tim Tebow.
(Image credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

You may have heard: Tim Tebow is a baseball player now! The former Florida Gator Denver Bronco New York Jet Philadelphia Eagle New England Patriot gridiron prayer-master has taken his talents to the St. Lucie Mets, the Instructional League team of the MLB's New York Mets.

But even though Tebow is not yet a major-league player, that won't stop the MLB from profiting off the former signal-caller's high-profile change of sport. While MLB teams are traditionally prohibited from selling a player's jersey until he works his way up to the major leagues, Tebow apparently skirted the rule thanks to a contract loophole: ESPN reports Tebow "signed a bridge agreement with the official jersey supplier Majestic Athletic last week, which allows the company to merchandise him before he makes the majors."

And the league was right: Tebow's jersey has been a top seller since hitting the Mets store over the weekend. By Monday afternoon, the New York Daily News reports Tebow's jersey had overtaken that of ace pitcher Noah Syndergaard — who plays for the actual, major-league Mets — as the most popular jersey in the team's store. And eagle-eyed buyers will note that Mets colors are strikingly similar to Tebow's former Florida garb, which the league surely hopes will rope in some die-hard Gators fans.

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Just to recap: Tebow on Monday reported to Port St. Lucie, the Florida town where the Mets' minor league club is based. He is not in Flushing, New York, where the actual major-league Mets will face the also major-league Atlanta Braves on Monday night. But his jersey is still the top-selling Mets jersey of the day, and is doing quite well on the league-wide store as well.

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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.