New England Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow is the highest profile signing the team has made this offseason and now the former Gators star is bailing out the team in another way, as a trading card company replaced tight end Aaron Hernandez after his murder arrest with Tebow.
According to ESPN.com, the company removed Hernandez stickers from 500,000 of its sticker books that had already been produced and now are replacing him with Tebow. The books had not yet hit the shelves and the stickers come in packs, with Hernandez being one of the players chosen in the book. The company made one million stickers of Tebow to replace his former Florida Gators teammate and they will hand out the Tebow stickers at events or given to customers who received Hernandez in a pack and send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the company.
The Tebow image can also be downloaded from the company website for fans and now Hernandez will be fully removed after previously appearing in two of the card sets for this season. Tebow will be used instead in future books and the company said they felt it was the right thing to do after what happened with Hernandez and his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd.
Panini is the latest company and organization to distance themselves from Hernandez, as the Patriots fired him, the Pro Football Hall of Fame took a picture out of the museum of Hernandez that won a contest and EA Sports removed him from their upcoming Madden game. Hernandez is currently in jail awaiting trial for the murder of Lloyd and he has plead not guilty to first degree murder and he could be facing life in prison for the crime.
The Patriots also allowed fans to exchange jerseys of Hernandez for other players and overall the team said it lost $200,000 in the process. Hernandez was considered the top young tight end in the league and now his career is likely over as he is in jail awaiting trial in Dartmouth, Mass.
