NFL fans have been left stunned after Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman was announced as the next star of ABC’s The Bachelor.

The 27-year-old – who signed with the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2024 – will feature in the series’ 30th season, which is set to air in March 2027.

Speaking to Good Morning America, he said: ‘I’m excited but also very nervous. I have a tough time holding conversation with one girl. 30 is going to be pretty tough.’ 

The football player admitted that he was hesitant to participate in the show but ultimately couldn’t pass up on the chance to find true love. 

‘Honestly, at first I was like, “No way,”‘ he said. ‘I got really lucky and talked to Jesse Palmer and he kind of gave me the insight, what it is and what it’s not.’

He added: ‘When people are saying “I do,” they don’t ask where you met, they just ask if you wanna do it forever. I don’t see any problem with that.’

Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman has been named as the next star of ‘The Bachelor’

The 27-year-old will feature in the series’ 30th season, which is set to air in March 2027

The surprise casting was announced on Good Morning America on Friday morning 

He revealed that his teammates had given him advice on the team’s flight back to D.C. following the Commanders’ 24-21 win over the New York Giants on Thursday night. 

‘Probably not gonna listen to anybody on that,’ Hartman joked. ‘But no, I’m excited.’

When asked what he was searching for in a relationship, he said ‘competitiveness.’ 

‘Competitiveness and somebody that I want to be able to chase. 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,’ he said.

According to reports, the season is set to be filmed in January, ensuring that his on-air commitments won’t take Hartman away from the Commanders practice field.

Hartman has endured a turbulent spell since joining the NFL, being released and re-signed by the Commanders on a number of occasions and is yet to play a game. 

‘Sam Hartman is changing the game as the leading man of the 30th season of The Bachelor,’ ABC shared in a statement on Friday morning. 

‘The 27-year-old pro athlete is ready to find his forever teammate. With the same leadership and heart that won over fans on the field, Hartman will begin handing out roses as he searches for love.’

The season is reportedly set to be filmed in January, hopefully minimizing the on-field impact

Hartman has not played a regular-season game for the Washington Commanders

The signal caller was signed by the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2024

Jesse Palmer participated in the show while serving as the Giants backup quarterback in 2004

Hartman played college football for Wake Forest and Notre Dame before going undrafted in 2024. 

He emerged as an NFL heart throb, thanks to his flowing locks, when he arrived in the league two years ago. However, Hartman has kept his personal life largely out of the spotlight. He had been briefly linked to former Wake Forest soccer player Tyla Ochoa but the quarterback has never publicly confirmed a relationship. 

The signal caller is not the first NFL star to take part in the hit reality TV series. Jesse Palmer, who now hosts the show, made history as the first professional athlete to participate as the lead of the Bachelor in 2004.

Palmer, who was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft, took part while serving as the team’s backup quarterback under head coach Tom Coughlin.

He is even said to have hosted watch parties for his season with his teammates in the locker room. However, not everyone within the Giants organization was impressed. Then-General Manager Ernie Accorsi publicly criticized Palmer for taking part in the show.

‘I would have been much happier if he was studying tape the last six weeks instead of getting involved with this thing,’ he famously stated at the time.

His casting as the latest Bachelor comes after ABC pulled its most recent of The Bachelorette earlier this year. 

The 22nd season of the show was set to star Secret Lives of Mormon Wives stay Taylor Frankie Paul. However, it was cancelled just days before it was due to air in March amid reports of a domestic violence involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen. 

It remains to be seen if the network will ever air the episodes.