Jesse Palmer came from Toronto to play quarterback for Steve Spurrier at the University of Florida in 1997. Four years later, the New York Giants selected him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft.
If you aren’t a college football fan or a New York Giants diehard, chances are the first time you heard his name was when he was the titular focus of The Bachelor during the ABC reality show’s fifth season. Seventeen years after being the focus of the show, the ESPN college football analyst is returning to the series as its host.
Season 26 of The Bachelor debuts in January, and The Hollywood Reporter writes that Jesse Palmer will take over as the new host. The job became available earlier this summer when Chris Harrison exited the role after 20 years.
With a January start, it is likely that Jesse Palmer will be able to finish college football’s regular season on ESPN without conflict. Bowl season could be a different story depending on when The Bachelor starts filming. He signed a contract extension at ESPN earlier this year.
“For more than 20 years, The Bachelor has brought the world dozens of unforgettable love stories, including at one time, my own,” Palmer said in a statement. “Falling in love is one of life’s greatest gifts, and I am humbled by the opportunity to return to the show as host this season to offer the newest Bachelor advice gained from firsthand experience and I am grateful to play a small part in his journey.”
A fun fact about Palmer’s time on The Bachelor is that it almost never happened. The show’s producers wanted Chris Simms, who was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the time. The NBC NFL analyst told Dan Patrick that he passed because he was worried he would be cut.
Jesse Palmer has been with ESPN since 2007. He has filled multiple roles on the network’s college football coverage. He and Brent Musberger were the original primetime broadcast team for the SEC Network. Currently, Palmer is an analyst on College Football Final alongside host Matt Barrie and Joey Galloway.
