Video: Good Morning America, “Meet the new star of season 30 of ‘The Bachelor’,” embedded with the official YouTube player. The ABC program’s own segment introducing Sam Hartman as the Season 30 lead, per its title. Uploaded by Good Morning America on Nov. 13, 2026, at 10:20 a.m. ET. Running time 4:44.
INSTANT UPDATE
Latest: ABC has named Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Hartman the lead of “The Bachelor” Season 30, which premieres Sunday, March 21, 2027, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, according to ABC’s announcement on abc.com.
- What: The network revealed a 27-year-old NFL quarterback as its next Bachelor in a surprise announcement on “Good Morning America,” the first new lead in nearly two years, Entertainment Weekly reported.
- When: Friday morning, Nov. 13, 2026, hours after the Commanders’ 24-21 Thursday night win over the New York Giants, People and the Commanders reported.
- Where: Announced live on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in New York; the season airs on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
- Who: Sam Hartman, a Commanders practice squad quarterback and former Wake Forest and Notre Dame star; host Jesse Palmer, a former NFL quarterback, helped persuade him, Hartman said.
- Current situation: Hartman remains on Washington’s practice squad, according to the team’s official roster, and the show will not air until March, after the NFL season.
Last verified update: 12:38 p.m. ET, Fri., Nov. 13, 2026
Key Points
- Sam Hartman, 27, will hand out roses as the star of “The Bachelor” Season 30, ABC announced Friday on “Good Morning America.”
- The season premieres Sunday, March 21, 2027, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu, according to ABC.
- Hartman is on the Commanders’ practice squad: the team released him on Aug. 30 and re-signed him to the practice squad on Aug. 31, according to Commanders announcements.
- He threw an ACC-record 110 touchdown passes at Wake Forest and 134 in his college career, fourth in FBS history, the Los Angeles Times and the Commanders reported.
- Hartman said he first told the show “no way” but changed his mind after talking with host Jesse Palmer.
- It is the first new “Bachelor” season since Grant Ellis’ Season 29 in 2025, Entertainment Weekly and People reported.
Sam Hartman is the new Bachelor. ABC announced Friday that the Washington Commanders quarterback will lead Season 30 of “The Bachelor,” revealing the pick live on “Good Morning America” just hours after Washington beat the New York Giants 24-21 on Thursday night. The season premieres Sunday, March 21, 2027, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu, according to ABC’s announcement on abc.com.
“I’m excited but also very nervous,” Hartman said on “Good Morning America,” according to ABC News. The 27-year-old, a former Wake Forest and Notre Dame star, is a member of the Commanders’ practice squad and has yet to play in an NFL regular-season game, The Associated Press reported.
What happened
Hartman made the announcement in his first interview about the role, ABC News said. After the Commanders’ win at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he flew back to Washington with his teammates and then returned to New York for the reveal on “GMA,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
He admitted the format makes him nervous. “I have a tough time holding conversation with one girl. 30 is going to be pretty tough,” Hartman said, according to ABC News. He added that teammates offered advice on the flight home after the game, the Commanders’ official site reported: “Probably not gonna listen to anybody on that.”
ABC’s announcement on abc.com describes Hartman as a Charlotte, North Carolina, native who plays for the NFL’s Washington Commanders and set ACC records at Wake Forest and Notre Dame, including most career touchdown passes and 300-yard passing games. The network also noted that he was featured in the documentary series “QB1: Beyond the Lights.”
Is Sam Hartman still on the Commanders?
Yes. Some outlets, including Page Six, framed the news as coming months after Hartman was cut by Washington. Both events happened, but the cut was not the end of his time with the team. The Commanders released Hartman in their Aug. 30 roster cutdown and signed him to the practice squad the next day, Aug. 31, according to the team’s official announcements and transaction log.
As of Friday, the Commanders’ official roster lists Hartman, No. 15, on the practice squad. The team’s own story on the announcement calls him a 2024 undrafted free agent, and AP described him as a practice squad member who has yet to appear in a regular-season game.
Why Hartman almost said no
Hartman said his first reaction to the offer was “no way,” People and AP reported. “I just think the connotation of it, I was like, ‘I don’t know,'” he said, according to People.
A conversation with Jesse Palmer changed his mind. Palmer, the franchise’s host, was a New York Giants backup quarterback when he starred in Season 5 of “The Bachelor,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “He kind of gave me the insight and gave me kind of what it is and what it’s not,” Hartman said, according to ABC News. “I know one thing, when people are saying, ‘I do,’ they don’t ask you where you met, they just ask if you want to do it forever. I don’t see any problem with that.”
As for what he wants in a partner, Hartman said he is looking for competitiveness and “somebody that I want to be able to chase,” the Commanders reported, along with compassion and caregiving. He said his father is an orthopedic spine surgeon, his mother is a labor and delivery nurse and his brother is a medical resident at Vanderbilt, according to People and Entertainment Weekly.
Background: from ACC record-setter to NFL practice squad
Hartman played five seasons at Wake Forest and holds the ACC record for career touchdown passes with 110, the Los Angeles Times reported, a mark Wake Forest’s athletics department also lists. He then spent his final college season at Notre Dame in 2023, throwing for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns, according to the Times.
In 2022, while at Wake Forest, Hartman was diagnosed with Paget-Schroetter syndrome, a rare condition that causes blood clots in a vein near the collarbone, ABC News reported. He returned that season and won the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award, which honors the conference’s “most courageous” player.
He went undrafted and signed with Washington in 2024. Since then he has moved between the practice squad and the active roster, the Los Angeles Times reported.
| Sam Hartman at a glance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age | 27 |
| NFL team and status | Washington Commanders, practice squad, No. 15 |
| Hometown | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| College | Wake Forest, then Notre Dame (2023) |
| Career passing touchdowns | 110 at Wake Forest (ACC record); 134 in college, fourth in FBS history |
| NFL entry | Undrafted free agent, 2024 |
| “The Bachelor” Season 30 | Premieres Sun., March 21, 2027, 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT, ABC; next day on Hulu |
Source: ABC (abc.com), Washington Commanders official roster and Commanders.com, Los Angeles Times. Table: LiveNewsWorld.
A franchise returning after a long break
The pick ends a long pause for the franchise. No show in the “Bachelor” universe has aired since “Bachelor in Paradise” in summer 2025, AP reported, and ABC scrapped Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” in March amid domestic abuse allegations.
The new season also moves nights. “The Bachelor” had aired on Mondays for its entire run, Deadline reported, and Season 30 will premiere on a Sunday.
Hartman is not the first football player to lead the show. Palmer starred in Season 5 while with the Giants, and Colton Underwood, who led a later season, had spent time on NFL practice squads, AP reported.
Timeline
- 2022: Hartman is diagnosed with Paget-Schroetter syndrome at Wake Forest, returns that season and wins the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award, ABC News reported.
- 2023: He plays his final college season at Notre Dame, the Los Angeles Times reported.
- 2024: He signs with the Commanders as an undrafted free agent, according to the team.
- Aug. 30, 2026: Washington releases him in its roster cutdown, the team announced.
- Aug. 31, 2026: He re-signs with the Commanders’ practice squad, the team announced.
- Thu., Nov. 12, 2026: The Commanders beat the Giants 24-21 on Thursday Night Football.
- Fri., Nov. 13, 2026: ABC names Hartman the Season 30 Bachelor on “Good Morning America.”
- Sun., March 21, 2027: Season 30 premieres at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, according to ABC.
Why it matters
For ABC, the choice is a bet on a familiar formula. AP noted that the network again broke with its usual practice of choosing leads from past “Bachelor” or “Bachelorette” casts, after the same approach with “The Bachelorette” ended with that season being pulled.
For Hartman, it is a national spotlight that his NFL career has not yet given him. He has been a well-known college name since his record-setting years at Wake Forest, but he is still waiting for his first regular-season snap in the NFL, according to AP.
What happens next
Season 30 of “The Bachelor” premieres Sunday, March 21, 2027, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu and on Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers in the U.S., according to ABC. In the meantime, Hartman remains with the Commanders, who host Cincinnati on Monday, Nov. 23, according to ESPN’s NFL schedule. Read our recap of Washington’s 24-21 win over the Giants, or catch up on the Commanders’ earlier Monday night game against San Francisco. For live network news channels, visit our Watch Live hub.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the new Bachelor for Season 30?
Sam Hartman, a 27-year-old quarterback for the Washington Commanders, ABC announced on Nov. 13, 2026.
When does “The Bachelor” Season 30 premiere?
Sunday, March 21, 2027, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu, according to ABC.
Was Sam Hartman cut by the Commanders?
He was released on Aug. 30, 2026, then re-signed to the practice squad on Aug. 31, according to the team. The Commanders’ official roster still lists him on the practice squad.
Where did Sam Hartman play college football?
Wake Forest, where he set the ACC career record with 110 touchdown passes, and Notre Dame, where he played in 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Sources
- ABC: NFL Quarterback Sam Hartman Named ‘The Bachelor’ for Season 30 in 2027
- Good Morning America / ABC News: ‘The Bachelor’ season 30 to feature NFL quarterback Sam Hartman
- Washington Commanders: Sam Hartman announced as next ‘Bachelor’ for ABC’s hit show
- Washington Commanders: 2026 transactions
- The Associated Press, via NFL.com: Commanders QB Sam Hartman to be ‘The Bachelor’
- Los Angeles Times: Sam Hartman, Commanders practice squad QB, is ABC’s new ‘Bachelor’
