Meet the Bachelor: Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman takes the lead

Hartman takes the lead

ABC announced Friday that Sam Hartman will hand out roses in the 30th season of “The Bachelor.” The network said the season will premiere March 21. Hartman, 27, is on the Washington Commanders’ practice squad and has not played in a regular-season game. He appeared on “Good Morning America” after the Commanders beat the New York Giants on Thursday night.

Hartman said he was nervous about the prospect. He joked to the hosts that speaking with 30 women would be difficult after finding conversation with one woman challenging.

A familiar football connection

Other football players have also appeared in the franchise. Colton Underwood and Clayton Echard had brief NFL careers before becoming leads, while Mel Owens, the second-season “Golden Bachelor,” played linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams.

Franchise returns after pause

Hartman’s casting departs from the usual approach of choosing former “Bachelorette” or “Bachelor” contestants. Last year, the network picked “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul to lead “The Bachelorette,” but canceled that season in March amid domestic abuse allegations.

No show in the “Bachelor” universe has aired since “Bachelor in Paradise” in summer 2025. The franchise has been a near-constant presence in reality television since 2002.

Hartman describes his hopes

Hartman is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and played college football at Wake Forest and Notre Dame. He said he hopes to find someone with drive and compassion, including “some type of caregiving,” which he connected to his family’s medical background. He described the kind of ambition he wants in a partner as something that motivates him to “wake up every day and chase them.”