Woody: Tebow not here just to sell stuff
DESPITE THE marketing buzz that Tim Tebow’s arrival has created for the Jets, owner Woody Johnson maintained on Tuesday that his team didn’t trade for the lefthanded quarterback last month to sell more jerseys or spark Personal Seat License sales at Metlife Stadium. Tebow’s No. 15 Jets jersey, of course, is the hottest-selling item in the NFL in the past few weeks.
“Not really,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox Business Network on Tuesday. “Jerseys aren’t really our main line of business. Our main line of business is winning games. I expect if we do well, we will continue to sell. We’re pretty well sold out on PSLS despite what you read about.”
Johnson hasn’t ruled out the possibility that the Jets could make their second appearance on HBO’S “Hard Knocks” in three years. He intimated last week that informal discussions have taken place even though no offer has been made yet. Tebow will return to the Jets facility in New Jersey on Monday for the start of the team’s offseason workouts.
“I am very excited to see what impact he’s going to have,” Johnson said. “I think he’s a lot like (New Jersey) Governor Christie. He is what he is. He’s true to his beliefs; he’s not afraid to tell you what he be- lieves in. I think he will be a very positive influence in the locker room and I think he will help us win a lot of games.”
The decision to trade for Tebow, who led the Broncos over the Steelers in a wild-card game before he and Denver lost to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs last season, was a curious one by the Jets. The team had just given Mark Sanchez a three-year extension a few weeks earlier and made it clear that Drew Stanton was the backup they had targeted from the start of free agency. Stanton was traded to the Colts after the Tebow deal.
Johnson told the Daily News and ESPN at the league meetings two weeks ago that Sanchez was the clear-cut starter without question.
“If it’s a good decision (to trade for Tebow),” Johnson said, “if he turns out to be a great player, I will take full accountability for that.”