The Bachelor's Season 30 star has been revealed.
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ABC has announced NFL practice squad player Sam Hartman will serve as the lead of Season 30 of The Bachelor, which will debut on the network in March 2027.
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Sam is a member of the NFL's Washington Commanders football team but has never played in a regular season NFL game.
A 27-year-old native of Charlotte, NC, Sam originally joined the Commanders as an undrafted free agent after he went undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft however he has been cut and re-signed by the team multiple times since then.
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Sam was most recently released by the Commanders in August as part of their final cuts before the 2026 NFL season began, but re-signed to the team's practice squad the following day.
Prior to his professional career, Sam played six seasons of college football at Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
Sam's selection as The Bachelor's next star was announced live on ABC's Good Morning America on Friday morning.
During his live in-studio interview, Sam told Good Morning America contributor Rebecca Jarvis he had originally rejected The Bachelor producers when they approached him about serving as the show's Season 30 star.
"Honestly, at first I was like, 'No way,'" He said.
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However, according to Sam, he changed his mind after he had a discussion with The Bachelor host Jesse Palmer -- who served as The Bachelor's Season 5 lead back in 2004 and was, like Sam, a backup quarterback for an NFL team at the time.
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"I think there's a lot of -- the connotation of the it, I was like, 'I dunno,'" Sam explained. "And then I got really lucky and talked to Jesse Palmer... and he kinda gave me the insight and gave me the 'what it is, what it's not.'"
"And I think anybody, in their right mind, if you get told, 'Hey, you got the chance to go find the love of your life,' then I know one thing -- when people are saying 'I do,' they don't ask where you met, they just ask do you want to do it forever.And I don't see any problem with that."
During his GMA interview, Sam insisted he was "very nervous" about having his search for love televised.
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"I have probably a tough time holding a conversation with one girl, [so] 30 is going to be really tough," he said. "My teammates were there giving me some advice on the plane ride back, so I'm probably not going to listen to anybody on that. But no, I'm excited but also very nervous."
However the new The Bachelor star said his parents weren't sharing his nervousness.
"They're excited," Sam said. "And I think my mom and I have a really cool relationship, and my Pops is, you know, just supportive. Their big thing is just be myself and enjoy the experience and trust your instincts and trust your gut -- that's what's gotten you here so far."
According to Sam, he's looking for a driven, compassionate, and caring woman.
"I'm not going to give out answers right now, that's ridiculous," he said when asked his criteria for a partner. "No, I think competitiveness, and you're probably like 'We're not talking about the starting tight end or receiver.' I think competitiveness in somebody I want to be able to chase."
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"And not chase in a way like you haven't texted me back in a week but chase in a way that they have a drive for something that motives me to wake up every day and chase them. And also a part of that is compassion and some type of caregiving."
"My whole family is in the medicine field. Dad is a orthopedic spine surgeon, mom's a labor and delivery nurse, brother's at residency at Vanderbilt. And so there's a part of me that seeing them do so much for other people, I think that's a huge part."
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The Bachelor's 30th season will premiere Sunday, March 21, 2027 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC and air regularly on Sunday nights during its broadcast run -- a change from the show's longtime Monday-night time slot.
Filming will not reportedly begin filming until January 2027 after the 2026-2027 NFL season has concluded.
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