Recently released New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow has been ranked by Forbes.com survey as the most influential athlete of the year 2013, followed by Michael Phelp and Usain Bolts.

“For a backup quarterback to be talked about so much is incredible,” says Stephen Master, senior vice president of Sports for Nielsen, which conducted the surveys over the past several months in partnership with E-Poll, a market research firm in Encino, Calif., according to Forbes. “But it is the biggest market.”

The surveys reported that 29 percent of the respondents found Tebow to be “influential.” ESPN reported that over 1,000 people in the United States participated in the poll.

As an evangelical Christian, Tebow is known not only for his exceptional plays, but also for sharing his Christian faith with fans and in clinics, hospitals, market places, schools, and orphanages.

Tebow has over 2.2 million Twitter followers. His every move and speech has been the role model for many youths. His gesture of getting on one knee to pray during football games is dubbed as “Tebowing,” which many fans have imitated him and post pictures of themselves tebowing on social media sites.

Teacher and the students tebowing.(Tebowing.com)

Last week, Tebow was released by New York Jets after a one-year experiment as a part-time quarterback behind Mark Sanchez.

Fans of New York Jets and the press in New York harped on his acquisition as an ill-fated experiment that helped lead the Jets downhill to a 6-10 record last year. Despite such reports, Tebow did not play during most of the 15 months with the Jets.

The three athletes ranked behind Tebow are Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Derek Jeter.