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 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).
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.”
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.”
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.”
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