Dotting the i's and crossing the T's

Tebow Time officially begins at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Because of a technicality in Tim Tebow's contract, the quarterback's pact had to be reworked and signed again by Tebow before the trade became official. A person with knowledge of NFL contracts told Newsday on Friday that any changes had to be written into the deal first, then approved by the league.

Tebow signed his new contract just after 4 p.m. Friday, according to a source, and he'll remain on the Broncos' roster until 4 p.m. Saturday, when the trade papers are completely processed by the league office and the trade truly becomes official.

Tebow will be introduced at a news conference at noon Monday at the Jets' Florham Park, N.J., training facility.

The language that had to be rewritten in Tebow's contract stemmed from the $5-million payment due to the Broncos as part of Tebow's original rookie contract. It indicated the team acquiring him in a trade must pay Denver back the remaining portion of an original $6.2-million bonus they handed to him. The Broncos advanced Tebow's salaries from 2012, 2013 and 2014.

After a nine-hour gap that followed the Jets' initial announcement of the trade, the teams agreed to split the difference on the $5-million payment. The Jets sent fourth- and sixth-round picks in this year's draft to the Broncos for Tebow and Denver's seventh-round selection. But they traded that pick and quarterback Drew Stanton to the Colts on Friday, ending Stanton's brief time with the Jets.

According to a source, the Jets received the Colts' sixth-round pick -- which originally belonged to the Eagles -- and also are on the hook for Stanton's $500,000 signing bonus.

A week ago Friday, Stanton signed a one-year, $1.25-million deal to serve as Mark Sanchez's primary understudy. But when the Jets pulled off the trade for Tebow on Wednesday and made it clear that Tebow was going to be the No. 2, that didn't sit well with Stanton. He asked to be traded or released, and the Jets gave him his wish.

Stanton likely will play behind Andrew Luck, the quarterback from Stanford who's expected to be selected No. 1 overall by Indianapolis next month.

Stanton's departure to Indianapolis completes a crazy cycle of quarterback musical chairs. All signs point to Luck replacing Peyton Manning, who was cut loose from the Colts earlier this month after 14 seasons, in part because of the uncertainty related to his neck surgeries, the $28-million roster bonus he was due and the Colts' opportunity to pluck Luck off the top of their draft board.

With Manning's signing in Denver this week, it made Tebow expendable, leading the Broncos to ship him to the Jets.