ABC announces Sam Hartman, a Commanders practice squad quarterback, as new ‘Bachelor’
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- Sam Hartman, a Washington Commanders quarterback who has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game, will star in Season 30 of ABC’s “The Bachelor.”
- The former Wake Forest and Notre Dame standout said he’s excited but nervous about dating 30 women on camera.
- Hartman said he received advice from host Jesse Palmer, who was a New York Giants backup quarterback when he starred on the show in 2004.
Big news, NFL fans: The titular star for Season 30 of ABC‘s hit reality show “The Bachelor” is none other than Sam Hartman!
You know, the “Washington Commanders star,” as Hartman was introduced Friday on “Good Morning America?”
Still not ringing a bell? A promo clip played on “GMA” describes the quarterback as “a 6-foot-1, frequently fan-voted Adonis you might know from the Washington Commanders.”
No? You somehow must have missed all those preseason games Hartman has played for the Commanders over the past three seasons. Or the occasions that he suited up for regular season games in between stints on the team’s practice squad.
OK, so Hartman, 27, is not exactly the NFL “star” that the folks at ABC seem to be pushing (there is the slightest chance that he got the “Bachelor” gig based more on soap opera-esque good looks that include flowing hair, a perfectly trimmed beard and, of course, the athletic physique). He is currently a member of the Commanders’ practice squad.
Seriously though, there is a good chance college football fans remember Hartman. He played five seasons at Wake Forest and holds the Atlantic Coast Conference record for most touchdown passes (110), as well as a number of team records (including his 12,967 passing yards).
Washington blew a chance to beat the Giants in overtime when Jayden Daniels was tackled as time expired. Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson expressed consternation.
Hartman played one more college season at Notre Dame — completing 191 of 301 passes for 2,689 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions and leading the Fighting Irish to a 9-3 record — before joining the Commanders as an undrafted rookie in 2024. He has bounced between the team’s practice squad and active roster ever since and has yet to play in a regular season game.
After the Commanders’ 24-21 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night in East Rutherford, N.J., Hartman flew back to Washington with his teammates, then right back up north to New York for the big reveal on “GMA.”
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Asked how he felt about having his search for love being broadcast for the world to see, Hartman said he is “very nervous.”
“You know, I have probably a tough time holding a conversation with one girl — 30 is going to be pretty tough,” Hartman said. “My teammates were giving me some advice on the plane ride back, so probably not gonna listen to anybody on that. But, no, I’m excited, but also very nervous.”
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Hartman said he initially was going to turn down the opportunity because of “the connotation of it.” But he changed his mind after a conversation with Jesse Palmer, who was a New York Giants backup quarterback when he starred in Season 5 of “The Bachelor” and has hosted the show since 2022.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know,’ and I got really lucky and talked to Jesse Palmer,” Hartman said. “He kind of gave me the insight and gave me kind of a what it is, what it’s not. ... And I know one thing: When people are saying I do, they don’t ask you where you met. They just ask you, ‘You want to do it forever?’ and I don’t see any problem with that.”
Disney TV bet big on the “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star, pushing for Taylor Frankie Paul to lead one of its most important franchises.
“The Bachelor” Season 30 is set to premiere in March. It will be the first iteration of the series, including its many spinoffs, to air since “The Golden Bachelor” — starring retired Rams linebacker Mel Owens — wrapped up in November 2025.
This past March, ABC shelved the 22nd season of “The Bachelorette” three days before the premiere episode was set to air after a three-year-old video emerged of star Taylor Frankie Paul physically attacking ex-partner Dakota Mortensen.
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