Tim Tebow will spend much of his professional life outside of football for the foreseeable future after recently becoming partner at GOVO Venture Partners — a venture capital firm based in Winter Park, Fla. A couple hours from his hometown in Jacksonville, Tebow will "use his expertise and relationships across the state to boost the firm, which recently launched its first venture fund (GOVO Fund I) focusing on early-stage companies involved with government entities and government regulations," according to Sportico.
GOVO Venture Partners aims to help to fund companies that "strive to solve societal problems," which align with Tebow and the Tim Tebow Foundation's goals and principles. Tebow's employment is expected to help GOVO accelerate the company's value as a front-facing entity.
Tebow, a former two-time national champion and Heisman winner at the University of Florida, is a member of college football's 2023 Hall of Fame class. He's considered one of the greatest college football players of all-time given his achievements in the SEC under then-Gators coach Urban Meyer.
Tebow's list of accolades is expansive, chief among them his Heisman Trophy win in 2007. He was also part of two Florida teams that won a BCS National Championship and was a two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He has a statue outside of Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and finished his career with the Gators with 9,286 passing yards and 88 touchdowns to just 16 interceptions while rushing for 1,947 yards and 57 touchdowns.
Tebow, who retired from professional baseball as a career minor-leaguer in 2021, has spent most of his post-sports career as a motivational speaker and college football TV analyst for ESPN. When he stepped away from the diamond, Tebow, 36, was with the Mets organization since 2016 after last appearing in the NFL during the 2015 preseason with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Tebow last suited up in 2019, when he played for the Syracuse Mets, New York's Triple-A affiliate. It was his first time at the highest level of the minor leagues. In 2019, Tebow batted .163 with four home runs and 19 RBI. He also walked 20 times and hit 10 doubles in 77 games and 264 plate appearances. The 2018 season was kinder to Tebow, who actually made strides in the hitting department when playing for Binghamton Rumble Ponies in Double-A ball. That season, Tebow hit .273, six home runs, 36 RBI, 22 walks, 14 doubles and one triple in 298 plate appearances.
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Tebow pivoted to baseball after his NFL career as a first-round selection in 2010 didn't provide many options after stints with the Eagles, New York Jets and New England Patriots. Tebow played in nine games and started three in 2010, but it was 2011 where "Tebowmania" took over in Denver. He played in 14 total games but started 11 and was a catalyst to a late-season winning streak, leading the Broncos to the playoffs.
