Sam Hartman, a quarterback on the Washington Commanders’ practice squad, will be the star of “The Bachelor” on the reality dating show’s 30th season in 2027, ABC announced Friday.
Hartman, 27, is a former star at Wake Forest and Notre Dame who has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game since the Commanders signed him as an undrafted free agent in April 2024.
“I’m excited but also very nervous,” Hartman said Friday on “Good Morning America.” “I have a tough time holding conversation with one girl. Thirty is going to be pretty tough.”
The show, which will premiere on March 21, has featured NFL and former college players before, including former quarterback Jesse Palmer, now the host of “The Bachelor.” Palmer was with the New York Giants when he appeared as the lead on the show’s fifth season.
Hartman said Friday that he initially declined to be part of the show before talking with Palmer.
“He kind of gave me the insight of what it is, what it’s not,” Hartman said. “And I think anybody in their right mind, if you get told, ‘Hey, you’ve got a chance to go find the love of your life,’ I know one thing, when people are saying, ‘I do,’ they don’t ask you where you met, they ask if you wanna do it forever, and I don’t see any problem with that.”
Hartman said his fellow Commanders weren’t helpful when he broke the news after Thursday night’s 24-21 road win against the New York Giants.
“My teammates were there giving me some advice on the plane ride back, so (I’m) probably not going to listen to anybody on that,” he said.
Hartman said his parents are excited for him.
“Their big thing is (to) be myself and enjoy the experience and trust the instincts, trust your gut, that’s what has gotten you here so far,” he said on “Good Morning America.”
Hartman mentioned “competitiveness” as a quality he is looking for in his future partner.
“Competitiveness and somebody that I want to be able to chase,” he said. “Not chase in a way that, ‘You haven’t texted me back in a week,’ but chase in a way that they have a drive for something and motivates me to wake up every day to chase them.”
Hartman, now the fourth quarterback on the Commanders’ depth chart, had a productive college career at Wake Forest (2018-22) and Notre Dame (2023).
He threw for an Atlantic Coast Conference-high 38 touchdowns for the Demon Deacons in 2022 before transferring to South Bend. In his lone season for the Fighting Irish, he completed 63.5% of his passes for 2,689 yards, 24 TDs and eight interceptions in 12 games.
Hartman finished his college career with 15,656 passing yards, 134 TDs and 49 picks in 60 games.
Tyler Cameron, a former Wake Forest (2013-14) and Florida Atlantic (2015-16) quarterback, was on season 15 of “The Bachelorette” in 2019. His friend and Wake Forest teammate, wide receiver Matt James (2011-14), was “The Bachelor” for season 25.
