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Tim Tebow Named Most Influential Athlete In America

By Spike Eskin

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Tim Tebow is not currently on an NFL roster. He's as professional an athlete as you or I (ok, maybe a little more). But that's not going to stop Tim Tebow's fans.

Tebow was named the most influential athlete in America by Forbes magazine, the result of a poll conducted by Nielson Research and E-Poll.

"For a backup quarterback to be talked about so much is incredible," Stephen Master, senior vice president of Sports for Nielsen told Forbes. "But it is the biggest market." Tebow was called "influential" by 29% of the respondents in the poll.

Tebow threw a total of eight passes in 2012 for the Jets, who released the quarterback in April.

Imagine how influential Tebow would be be if he was any good.

Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning round out the top five. The rest of the list can be found at Forbes.com.

 

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