ESPN.com reported this morning that the New York Jets released quarterback Tim Tebow in a “long-anticipated move.”
The site said the Jets confirmed the release in a three-paragraph news release, “a long way from his Super Bowl-sized news conference last March” when the Jets brought Tebow “to Broadway.”
Tebow previously was with the Denver Broncos. He was the University of Florida quarterback before joining the NFL with the Broncos.
Meanwhile, a separate report on tbo.com, the news site of the Tampa Tribune, says Tebow plans to open a PDQ restaurant at 3260 Hodges Blvd.
The Tribune reported Sunday that Tebow, a New York Jets quarterback, could open the restaurant by late summer.
PDQ, which stands for “People Dedicated to Quality,” is a Tampa-based chicken sandwich chain. Its menu features chicken tenders along with chicken and turkey sandwiches, salads, sides and shakes.
The tbo.com site said Tebow, 25, is financially backing several North Florida locations of the chain. The site said Tebow’s brother Robby, 31, helped craft the deal. Robby Tebow is president of XV Enterprises, which handles the off-field business activities for Tim.
TBO.com said PDQ doesn’t technically franchise locations. Instead, investors privately back a new location and share in the proceeds while PDQ retains control of day-to-day operations.
PDQ’s website, eatpdq.com, shows seven locations open in Florida and North Carolina and plans for seven more in the Southeast.
The tbo.com site reported that several PDQ restaurants backed by Tebow could open in Gainesville, Ocala and the Jacksonville area, with others to come in Georgia.
PDQ Jacksonville – Hodges Pointe Propco LLC and PDQ Jacksonville – Hodges Pointe Restaurant Co. LLC were registered with the state in March.
The eatpdq.com site says PDQ opened its doors in 2009 in Cornelius, N.C., under the name Tenders. The first PDQ restaurant officially opened Oct. 30, 2011,
in Tampa.
The website shows five existing locations in Florida (South Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Carrollwood, St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale) and two in North Carolina (Raleigh and Concord).
The seven stores listed as “opening” include four in Florida (Jacksonville and Lakeland, both shown as “coming soon,” West Palm Beach, opening this spring, and Sarasota, opening this summer); two in North Carolina (Wake Forest, spring, and Cary, summer); and one in Columbia, S.C., “coming soon.”