Sam Hartman is the next Bachelor.
The 27-year-old former Washington Commanders quarterback will lead Season 30 of the ABC dating franchise, the network announced Friday morning. Hartman appeared on “Good Morning America” to confirm the casting and admitted he is already feeling the pressure.
“I’m excited but also very nervous,” Hartman said on the ABC morning show. “I have a tough time holding conversation with one girl. Thirty is going to be pretty tough.”
Hartman’s path to the franchise began in college football, where he spent the bulk of his career at Wake Forest University. There, he set the Atlantic Coast Conference record for most passing touchdowns with 110. His time on the field was interrupted in 2022 when he was diagnosed with Paget-Schroetter syndrome, a rare condition that causes blood clots in the upper arm, according to the National Library of Medicine.
He later transferred to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility and led the Fighting Irish to a 9-3 regular-season record. Though sports analysts had projected him as a late-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Hartman went undrafted and signed with the Washington Commanders as a free agent.
The Commanders cut Hartman in August, but he re-signed to the team’s practice squad the following day. His NFL career effectively ended there, clearing the way for his pivot to reality television.
ABC has increasingly looked beyond Bachelor Nation alumni to fill its lead roles. Matt James, a longtime friend of former “Bachelor” star Tyler Cameron who had never appeared on the franchise, became the show’s first Black lead for Season 25 in 2020.
Earlier this year, the network tapped Taylor Frankie Paul, star of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” to lead “The Bachelorette” Season 22. That casting unraveled dramatically when a 2023 domestic violence video surfaced just days before the scheduled March premiere. The footage showed Paul hurling a barstool at her ex-boyfriend and baby daddy, Dakota Mortensen, with one of her children present. ABC scrapped the season entirely.
“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” reports said in a statement at the time.
The Paul cancellation came days after “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” halted filming on its fifth season due to a separate February domestic dispute between Paul and Mortensen. In the Hulu show’s fourth season, filmed shortly after she wrapped “The Bachelorette,” Paul revealed she had gotten engaged to contestant Doug Mason but broke things off because she was not over Mortensen.
Hartman’s casting marks a cleaner break for ABC as it heads into its milestone 30th season. The Notre Dame alum will hand out roses when “The Bachelor” premieres Sunday, March 21 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with next-day streaming on Hulu.