Tim Tebow Sits Atop Forbes 2013 List of Most Influential Athletes

Yes, Tim Tebow is once again in the news. The "quarterback" was just released by the Jets this past week after having played only one season in New York. Almost everyone thought the Jets were crazy to sign Tebow last year for a multitude of reasons. One of which was the fact that he attracts so much attention to every move he makes that he's been considered a distraction by many.

And this proved to be true. Anyone who watched SportsCenter last year between August and September knows what I'm talking about, since literally half of every episode consisted of Sal Paolantonio reporting anything that had to do with Tebow.

A unique set of QB strengths and weaknesses and an affinity for wearing his Christian faith on his sleeve combine to make Tebow a compelling public figure, even as an NFL backup. Whether or not he’s able to remain deeply ingrained in the public consciousness without eventually getting more time on the field remains to be seen. But for now, Tebow, he of 2.2 million twitter followers, is still the man people talk about.

“For a backup quarterback to be talked about so much is incredible,” says Stephen Master, Senior Vice President of Sports for Nielsen, which conducted the surveys over the past several months in partnership with E-Poll, a market research firm in Encino, Calif. “But it is the biggest market.”

Either you love, hate, or just don't care about Tim Tebow, there really isn't anything in between. Even back in his days at Florida, he was the player that cried after games in which his team lost. But he was also the guy that got everybody in the stadium fired up and let the defense know that he would do whatever it took to win the game.

Religion is something that many people in America feel strongly about, and Tebow has thrown himself in the middle of it sometimes. Whether it's been him writing bible scriptures onto his eyeblack or thanking God in almost every interview he does, it's been made clear that Tebow is religious. This has led to, in part, Tebowmania over a year ago, and also much criticism. This criticism has consisted of "sports and religion shouldn't be mixed" and "the only reason he's in the NFL is because of his stardom and religious flamboyance."

Now both of these may very well be true. And for those of you out there that just can't stand Tim Tebow, I suggest you just accept the fact that no matter what he'll end up in the news somehow.

Here's the top 5 most influential athletes according to Forbes

1. Tim Tebow
2. Michael Phelps
3. Usain Bolt
4. Derek Jeter
5. Peyton Manning

*Tebow is the only unemployed athlete on the list