Woody Johnson says NY Jets didn't trade for Tim Tebow to sell jerseys ... - New York Daily News

Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News

Tim Tebow’s No. 15 Jets jersey may be flying off the shelves at sporting good stores, but Jets owner Woody Johnson (below) says the team isn’t the team’s ‘main line of business.’

Despite the marketing boon that Tim Tebow’s arrival has created for the Jets, owner Woody Johnson maintained on Tuesday that his team didn’t trade for the left-handed quarterback last month to sell more jerseys or spur lagging personal seat license sales at Met Life Stadium. Tebow’s No. 15 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 that airs at 4 p.m. 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, April 16, for the start of the team’s off-season 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 believes 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 Jets’ decision to acquire Tebow, who led the Broncos to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, was a curious one after they gave Mark Sanchez a three-year extension a few weeks earlier and made it clear that Drew Stanton was the backup signal caller that 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 that Sanchez was the clear-cut starter.

“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.”

This news was first reported in The Jets Stream