His respective endorsement deals with EA Sports and Nike have garnered plenty of publicity and earned him some good money, but the additional opportunities former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has turned down since joining the Denver Broncos are likely much more lucrative.

According to The Commercial Appeal, Tebow has “declined some seven-figure per year deals because he thought they would interfere with his football preparation,” opting to concentrate on working out before his first NFL training camp.

“I’m trying to work hard and not get my mind cluttered with all that,” Tebow said while working out in Memphis, TN. “When it gets to the point when something needs to be presented to me, I see it. Right now, it’s all ball for me.”

Tebow’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, realizes his client’s appeal and thinks there will be plenty of opportunities for him coming in both the near and distant future.

“Within the next five years, Tim clearly has a chance to be one of the most endorsable athletes on the planet,” Sexton told the paper this week. “I had one CEO of a major Fortune 500 company tell me, ‘You know what, Jimmy? For a corporation to put a face on their brand, this guy is the real deal. He’s the one guy who’s not going to be a scandal two or three years from now.’”

These mysterious “seven-figure per year” opportunities make his $300,000 Nike contract appear paltry by comparison. But being a NFL quarterback has never been all about money for Tebow.

“You have to decide what you have to be proud about, and being a football player doesn’t make you any more special than anyone else,” Tebow said. “Football gives me a platform and with that platform comes a responsibility and obligation to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Tebow has been working out in Memphis in preparation for Broncos training camp.

Photo Credit: Associated Press, (original) Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Tags: Denver Broncos, EA Sports, Jimmy Sexton, NFL, Nike, Tim Tebow

1 » Former Florida Gators linebacker Mike Peterson – now a veteran with the Atlanta Falcons, has taken on the roll of mentor with the team’s first-round choice in the 2010 NFL Draft, Sean Weatherspoon. Now 34, Peterson had a solid 2009-10 season (140 tackles) and hopes to continue to help both on the field and in the locker room. “I understand the business,” he said. “I want to help the team out. That’s what I’m all about. I didn’t come here to try and play 2,000 plays. I came here to try to win the Super Bowl. Whatever my role will be, I’m ready for it.”

2 » The Denver Post is apparently the “Kyle Orton needs to get out of here on way or another” angle now that former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has joined the Denver Broncos. Columnist Woody Paige insists the team needs to pull the trigger on a trade involving Orton because he is “not a short-term fix or a long-range fit for the Broncos,” noting that he is “an average quarterback who couldn’t start for 21 other teams in the league.” Better to see what they have in former Notre Dame star Brady Quinn and first-round pick Tebow, Page believes. Paper-mate mark Kiszla takes a similar angle on the topic, noting that Orton needs to get himself out of Denver as fast as possible. “[He] would have rocks for brains to start another game as quarterback of the Broncos,” Kiszla wrote. “He would be playing the fool for Denver coach Josh McDaniels. If Orton owns a penny’s worth of common sense, he has already quietly, politely and firmly asked for a trade to grant his freedom.”

3 » EA Sports’ NCAA Football 11, which will feature Tebow as its cover athlete, is undergoing more changes than just deciding to use one former player on its cover instead of many. According to Jon Robinson of ESPN, the gaming company has decided to further embed ESPN branding into the game, letting each contest play like it is a live network broadcast. Read more about some of the game’s brand new features.

4 » Speaking of ESPN, the worldwide leader has decided to create a bracket system in order to devise which college program has been the best pipeline for the NFL over the last 30 years. Not surprisingly, No. 13-seed Florida lost its opening-round match-up. Unfortunately for some fans, it was to the No. 4-seed Florida State Seminoles. Though writer Matt Williamson noted that the recent influx of Gators gives the team a chance to claim the title in the future, the past’s top five notable players (Derrick Brooks, Deion Sanders, Walter Jones, Rohn Stark, LeRoy Butler VS. Emmitt Smith, Lomas Brown, Cris Collinsworth, Wilber Marshall, Neal Anderson) allows FSU to earn the edge. Check out the entire head-to-head match-up at the link above including summaries by Heather Dinich and Mark Schlabach.

Photo Credit: Jon Robinson/ESPN

Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Brady Quinn, Cris Collinsworth, Denver Broncos, Draft, EA Sports, Emmitt Smith, ESPN, Florida State Seminoles, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, Lomas Brown, Mike Peterson, NCAA Football 11, Neal Anderson, NFL, Sean Weatherspoon, Tim Tebow, Wilber Marshall

1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was drafted No. 25 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. Before that became official, league commissioner Roger Goodell had to announce it to the crowd at Radio City Music Hall. After that took place, some lucky kid snatched up the below card. Nice keepsake. Good luck getting your hands on it. Be armed with $1 million.

2 » Dressed in an sea foam green shirt and white Broncos hat, Tebow’s first rookie card looks more like something out of a family photo album than a card kids will have a desire to collect. But considering his No. 15 Denver jersey is already the top seller among rookies, it is no surprise that Prestige Football wants to capitalize on his brand ASAP.

3 » Though OGGOA has already shown you both pieces of cover art featuring Tebow on EA Sports‘ NCAA Football 11 video game, now you can take a look at his likeness in the company’s Madden NFL 11 game, set to be released just a few weeks later.

4 » Former Florida dazzler and ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews continues her quest to reach the finals of the ABC reality television show Dancing With the Stars. Like she did earlier in the season, Andrews’ celebrated on the show Monday with a nice big Gator Chomp to show her UF pride and thank her fans. Enjoy.

Photo Credits: Panini America, IGN

Tags: Dancing with the Stars, dazzlers, Denver Broncos, Draft, EA Sports, Erin Andrews, Gator Chomp, Madden NFL 11, NCAA Football 11, NFL, Radio City Music Hall, Roger Goodell, Tim Tebow

Last week, EA Sports officially released the cover art for their NCAA Football 11 video game featuring former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. The cover they released was only for the PlayStation 3 version of the game as, this week, they have come out with a second version of the cover for the XBOX 360.

The game will likely be released the second week of July.

Check out OGGOA’s original story on Tebow being named the game’s cover athlete.

Tags: EA Sports, NCAA Football 11, Tim Tebow

It took former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow over a month to decide whether or not he would attend the 2010 NFL Draft in person at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NY. In the end, the answer was a simple “thanks but no thanks,” as the signal caller chose to return home to Jacksonville, FL, for a gathering with family, friends, his agent Jimmy Sexton and head coach Urban Meyer.

The motivating factor in Tebow’s decision was not potential embarrassment of being drafted late but rather his desire to remain with those closest to him during one of the most important processes of his life.

“That’s such a moment that will be exciting and special, so I don’t want to just celebrate that with people that I don’t really know and haven’t really been around just to be there in New York,” Tebow told OGGOA on March 27. “I want to be around my close friends and my family. So if that’s something we can work out or not, I’ll probably be with my family. I think it’s also just figuring out what’s with my schedule and everything. But then also just being around my family and figuring out what would be fun and what would be the easiest, most relaxed, comfortable spot.”

Tebow was already in New York for a promotional appearance with EA Sports (he is featured on the cover of the NCAA Football 11 video game) but chose not to stay.

Florida cornerback Joe Haden will be the sole player representing the school in New York and one of 24 former student-athletes who will be in attendance.

Tags: Draft, EA Sports, Jimmy Sexton, Joe Haden, NCAA Football 11, NFL, Radio City Music Hall, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

EA Sports has officially released the cover art for their NCAA Football 11 video game featuring former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

The game will likely be released the second week of July.

Check out OGGOA‘s original story on Tebow being named the game’s cover athlete.

Tags: EA Sports, NCAA Football 11, Tim Tebow

Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has officially landed on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football 11 video game.

EA Sports NCAA Football 11 Cover Shoot Video

Tebow, who recently signed an endorsement deal with Nike, is the second Florida player to be featured on the game franchise’s cover. His childhood idol and Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel was the cover athlete of NCAA Football 98, the first installment of the genre’s best-selling series.

Now we know why Tebow was so hesitant to give OGGOA a decisive answer on this topic when we interviewed him over a week ago. “[Laughing] EA, we’ll see,” he said.

Best of all for Tebow, his relationship with EA Sports extends beyond simple promotion. The video game company has done wonders to help him give sick children in Gainesville, FL, something to do while in the hospital.

“It’s exciting to be with EA Sports because when you look at their brand, it’s very positive. It’s great for young kids, it’s great for everyone to sit down and play a good video game,” Tebow told ESPN. That’s something that’s uplifting and something everyone can have fun with. We spent the last year building a play room at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, and these games are going to be a big part of it.”

Read Tebow’s entire interview with ESPN Video Games.

Jon Robinson: What was your reaction the first time you saw yourself in a video game?
Tim Tebow: First thing I thought was, I’m faster than that. [Llughs] I wanted to call some people and get my speed rating bumped up a little bit. But it’s fun to be a part of the game. It’s something that exciting, and it’s a little surreal to be honest, because you’re playing as yourself in a game that you grew up playing. As a kid, I always looked up to these guys who were on the cover of the college game, so it’s a really fun experience for me just to be involved.

JR: What did you think the first time you saw your video game character throw an interception?
TT: To be honest, I don’t actually play as Florida a lot. Even the last four years I haven’t played as them too often because they’re really good in the game and it’s too much of an advantage for whoever is playing as them. Usually we pick lesser teams. But the other day I was playing against my brother and he was playing as Florida, and he was trying to scramble around, he was running to his left and threw all the way back down the field to his right like 80 yards. I was like, “There’s no way I could’ve made that pass.” So sometimes the video games exaggerate a little bit. But my brother was like, “What, are you doubting yourself? You don’t have confidence?” It was pretty funny.

Starting with NCAA Football 09, EA Sports began featuring different student-athletes on the game’s cover for each individual platform (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox360, Wii, etc.) It is unknown if Tebow would grace the 2011 game’s cover on one or every format.

Photo Credit: Jon Robinson/ESPN

Tags: Danny Wuerffel, EA Sports, Heisman Trophy, NCAA Football 11, Tim Tebow

ESPN‘s Adam Schefter reports that former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has agreed to an endorsement contract with Nike. The global shoe and apparel brand, according to Schefter’s report, signed Tebow to a deal worth just under $300,000 per year. However, it is said to include incentives that could significantly boost his pay likely depending on a variety of factors including sales and performance.

Since graduating, Tebow has already done a promotional appearance with Gatorade (a relationship that may continue) and is believed to be the cover athlete for EA Sports‘ NCAA Football 11 video game. He has also agreed to a partnership with Palm Beach Autographs for his John Hancock.

Seeing as the findings of a recent study had Tebow already being more popular and appealing than future hall of famers Brett Favre and Tom Brady and more of a trendsetter than Super Bowl winners Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, there will likely be plenty of additional endorsement money coming in his future.

OGGOA will update this story as more information is made available.

Original Photo Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Tags: EA Sports, Gatorade, NCAA Football 11, Nike, Tim Tebow