NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer was named as the next Bachelor on ABC's hit romantice reality series. This edition is set to start in April 2004.

Reality Reel Media
01.29.04

NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer of the New York Giants has been selected as ABC's new Bachelor -- the first professional athlete to be tapped to star in the hit romance reality series. The fifth installment of "The Bachelor" will premiere in April on the ABC Television Network.

Palmer, 25, who was drafted by the Giants in 2001, became the top backup quarterback in 2002. The strong-armed quarterback brought impressive collegiate credentials to the NFL, having played with the University of Florida Gators in Gainesville under Steve Spurrier. Palmer ranks fourth on the Gators' all-time list in passing efficiency rating (133.14), eighth on the school's career list with 3, 755 yard passing and ninth with 31 touchdown passes.

"To have an NFL quarterback as a Bachelor is a real coup," said Mike Fleiss, executive producer of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." "If you lined up all the greatest bachelors who have ever applied to be on the show, Jesse would definitely be our number one draft pick."

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the 6'2" Palmer, who now resides in New Jersey, also garnered acclaim as the 1996 Canadian Player of the Year, first playing for St. Pius X High School and then leading the Myers Raiders, a club football team, to one of three Provincial Championships (1994-1996).

Born into a family of gridiron greats, his father, Bill, is a former Canadian Football League star with the Ottawa Rough Riders and his brother, Billy, is a tight end at Notre Dame.