Disgraced Miami Booster Makes Admission About Placing Bounty on Tim Tebow

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Brendan Howe | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 11:16 PM ET

Former Miami Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro doesn’t blame fraud for being the reason why he was imprisoned. No, his 20-year sentence for a Ponzi scheme is the fault of former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow.

“I set a bounty on Tim Tebow and I think God made me pay for it by sending me to prison,” Shapiro said during a conversation with Anthony Mo Hasan last month. “You know, I’m not kidding. I thought about this when I was locked up. Like, ‘I wonder if that bounty I set on Tim Tebow … really cost me my freedom.’ I didn’t pay it out because we didn’t collect. They didn’t collect, but I set a bounty on him.”

Shapiro put a target on Tebow, at the time the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, during Miami’s battle with the eventual BCS national champion Gators in 2008. If Randy Shannon’s defense was trying to hurt the famed Florida passer, it was to no avail.

Tebow went 21 for 35 for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air. He ran through the Hurricanes’ defense for 55 yards on 13 carries, as well.

“I’ll never go his route, his way again,” Shapiro said. “That was it, man. I went away for 10 years. I think it’s because of that. … I’m glad I didn’t put a bounty on (Aaron) Hernandez. He might’ve came back for me in real life."

Worth noting, Hernandez reeled in five passes for 58 yards and a 14-yard touchdown on the Gators’ first possession.

Miami finished that season with a 7-6 mark, part of a 13-year stretch in which the Hurricanes failed to win at least 10 games during a single season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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