Tim Tebow says he's pausing relationship with Christian organization after 'scam' allegations

Tim Tebow is pausing his relationship with Life Surge in the wake of "scam" allegations against the Christian-focused organization he has helped front for years, he told reporters Friday.

The allegations were aired out an episode of the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast published Thursday . Torre and co-investigator Kiera Butler of Mother Jones allege that Tebow has hosted dozens of events as part of a predatory business model that encourages attendees to eventually pay five-figure sums for financial education.

"The allegations are extremely, extremely serious and it's something that we take very serious. And so for us, we're having our team do an investigation but also pausing our relationship until we can learn more about the facts to be able to understand more."

Life Surge's website says its mission is to "Inspire, train, & equip others to SURGE their resources and influence for Kingdom Impact," while offering "1-day inspirational events," "3-day transformational classes" and "ongoing advanced training and mentorship."

According to the episode titled "We Investigated the Christian 'Scam' Fronted by Tim Tebow," Tebow has been paid between $50,000 and $100,000 to headline introductory events, in which attendees are charged only $30 to hear Tebow and others speak. A cascading series of subsequent classes are then offered, with five-figure prices to learn about topics like the stock market and real estate.

Throughout the day, members of the audience are offered opportunities to enroll in three days of "impact classes" for $97. Those who attend then have the chance to enroll in "SurgeU" — a series of courses promising to "surge your resources and influence through real estate and trade — for Kingdom impact." SurgeU doesn't come cheap: Packages range from about $10,000 to $40,000. Should you want to enroll but lack the cash, Life Surge connects you with a third-party lender.

Tebow, whose Christianity was central to his public persona during his football career, is recorded as having urged attendees to sign up for such classes at a 2023 Life Surge event:

"So I know that many of you today have probably signed up for classes, have probably signed up to take the next step," he said. "I want to encourage you to finish that, to follow through on that commitment, to finish strong."

The central pitch appears to be offering people financial training to help them make money and in turn advance their religious mission, even if it requires taking out lines of credit or pulling from retirement accounts.

One couple told Mother Jones they borrowed roughly $40,000 on interest-free credit cards after speaking with one of Life Surge's in-house financial counselors, only to make nothing from the stock market and have to take out a home equity loan to pay off the remaining debt, where the variable interest rate had increased to 29%.

Tebow didn't respond to Torre or Butler's requests for comment. On Friday, he said he only found out about the allegations on Thursday:

"I was at an anti-human trafficking conference yesterday and the team shared with me when we were leaving, as we were flying for Alabama for an event. Kind of caught off guard with some of it and I think that's why we're really trying to understand more of the facts to really learn it."

Tebow is far from the only athlete to have spoken for Life Surge, though he appears to be their most prolific paid speaker. Butler says he was on pace to do 23 different events across 2026.

Since the start of 2025 alone, Torre and Butler present bills featuring the likes of Joe Montana, Magic Johnson, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Saquon Barkley, Cooper DeJean, Brandon Graham, Michael Strahan, Nick Foles, David Ortiz, Russell Wilson, Dominique Dawes, Jerome Bettis and Darryl Strawberry. Former ESPN host Sage Steele is also alleged to have participated in 10 events in 2026 alone.

Life Surge's website also lists Emmitt Smith, Cris Carter, Mark Few, Jeremiah Smith, Calvin Johnson, Brian Dawkins, Joe Mazzulla, Bob Stoops, Brian Urlacher, Antonio Gates and David Robinson among its speakers.

Tebow hasn't played an NFL game since 2012, but he has remained in the public sphere in a number of ways, from a minor-league baseball career to stints on the ESPN family of networks to Congressional testimony about the spread of human trafficking.