Comparing Eli Manning and Tim Tebow is like comparing pop rocks and candy corn. Tim Tebow (pop rocks) is a lightning rod when brought up in conversation. People either religiously love and follow him or they religiously hate how much coverage he gets and they just want people to stop talking about him. On the field he pumps his fist and jumps around. He wins games in exciting “can you believe it” fashion. Whether you love him or love to hate him there is no gray area. He evokes emotion and is known globally.1
Tebow reaches across many categories of nontraditional marketing. The DBI (Davie Brown Index) which scores celebrities across eight attributes, ranked Tebow 402nd in the category of aspiration this fall. By the middle of December he ranked 15th.2 This rank not only gives him value as a celebrity endorser but his non-profit The Tim Tebow Foundation is projected to reach their annual budget of $2.5 million by March. Donations doubled since Tebow took over as a starter.3
Tebow is the high risk, high reward endorsement. The question for Tim Tebow is a simple one. Can he continue to win and be a presence in the National Football League or like pop rocks, will his value start out with a bang and then fizzle. Then there is Eli Manning (candy corn). Outside of Giants fans, their rivals and San Diego (where he was originally drafted) he is all gray area. Conversations do not start or end with people getting all fired up with emotion when talking about Eli. Eli rarely pumps his fist or shows any emotion on the football field. You rarely hear about Eli off the field unless he is tied into a story about his commercial juggernaut brother, Peyton. Eli’s value comes from being a Super Bowl M.V.P. He is the face of a franchise that plays in a big market and he is on his way to another Super Bowl. He is a proven winner and rarely seems rattled. He has thrown for 27,579 yards and 185 touchdowns in his career.4 He presents himself well during interviews and does not get into trouble off the field.
Eli is the safe long term endorsement. Like candy corn, he is always there, he is bland but everyone knows who he is.

1http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-tebow-world-2012-1 2http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/richard_deitsch/12/16/tebow.needle/index.html
3 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/12/tim-tebow-charity-donations_n_1201794.html
4 http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5526/eli-manning