Jesse Palmer | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Palmer in 2010 | |||||||||||
| Born | Jesse James Palmer (1978-10-05)October 5, 1978 (age 47) Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||
| Education | University of Florida (BA,BS) | ||||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1997–present | ||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||
| Football career | |||||||||||
| No. 3 | |||||||||||
| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | St. Pius X (Ottawa, Ontario) | ||||||||||
| College | Florida (1997–2000) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2001: 4th round, 125th overall pick | ||||||||||
| CFL draft | 2001: 2nd round, 15th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Jesse James Palmer (born October 5, 1978)[1] is a Canadian television personality, sports commentator, and former professionalfootballquarterback who played in theNational Football League (NFL) for five seasons. Palmer playedcollege football for theFlorida Gators under coachSteve Spurrier, and then played professionally for theNew York Giants andSan Francisco 49ers in the NFL before spending half of the 2006 season with theMontreal Alouettes of theCanadian Football League (CFL).
Palmer was cast in 2004 as the Bachelor on thefifth season of the reality television seriesThe Bachelor. He went on to become a college football analyst forESPN/ABC in the United States,[2] and has been a contributor toThe Sports Network (TSN) in Canada.[3] He was also a contributor to ABC'sGood Morning America. In 2018, he hosted the kickoff season ofThe Proposal onABC. Since 2017, he has hosted theHoliday Baking Championship onFood Network. He was host ofDailyMailTV from 2017 to 2020. In 2021, Palmer was named as the permanent host ofThe Bachelor andThe Bachelorette.[2]
Palmer was born inToronto, Ontario,[4] and raised inNepean, Ontario, a suburb ofOttawa. He attended both Confederation andSt. Pius X high schools, although he played all of his amateur football on teams in the Ontario Minor Football Association and most importantly with the Ottawa Norsemen and Myers Riders Football Clubs in Ottawa.[5]
His father, Bill Palmer, played seven years for theOttawa Rough Riders.[6] His mother, Susan Palmer, was a prominent fashion and print model, co-founder of Barrett Palmer Models, and former owner of International Top Models, amodeling agency and training centre located in Ottawa which became MIM Model International Management.[7]
He has two younger brothers and attended a French-immersion school.[8] His brother Billy playedtight end for theUniversity of Notre Dame.[6] His cousin,Griffen Palmer, is acountry music singer and songwriter.[9]
Palmer accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coachSteve Spurrier'sFlorida Gators football team from1997 to2000.[10]
Palmer often alternated playing time with quarterbackDoug Johnson, and, later, with quarterbackRex Grossman. As a senior, he was selected as one of the team captains and received the Gators'Fergie Ferguson Award, recognizing the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage." He finished his four-year college career with 3,755 passing yards.[10]
Palmer graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with two undergraduate degrees: a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from theCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from theCollege of Business Administration. He was named to theSoutheastern Conference’s academichonor roll in 1998, 1999, and 2000.[2]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Wonderlic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 231 lb (105 kg) | 31+1⁄2 in (0.80 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.78 s | 1.68 s | 2.77 s | 4.29 s | 7.13 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) | 32[11] | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[12][13] | ||||||||||||
Palmer was selected by theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL) in the fourth round (125th overall pick) of the2001 NFL draft,[14] and played for the Giants from2001 until he was cut before the start of the2005 season.[15] As a Giants quarterback, he spent most of his NFL career as a backup behind starterKerry Collins.[16] In 2002, Palmer played in two games. The following season, Palmer played in six games, starting three.[15] Palmer was the second Canadian (afterMark Rypien of the Washington Redskins) to start at quarterback in the NFL.[17]
After a four-year stint as a backup quarterback, he was cut on September 3, 2005, by the Giants. He had entered the summer 2005 training camp as the backup toEli Manning, but found himself odd-man-out when the Giants went withTim Hasselbeck at number two andJared Lorenzen at number three QB.[18]
Attempting to locate another opportunity to stay in the NFL, Palmer worked out with theMinnesota Vikings andOakland Raiders and was signed by theSan Francisco 49ers on November 1, 2005, as injuries plagued their quarterbacksAlex Smith andKen Dorsey.[17][19] Dorsey and Smith returned from injury three weeks later, and Palmer was released without having played a down.[20] Palmer was re-signed by the 49ers in March 2006 during the off-season, but was released on August 29, 2006, toward the end of training camp.[20][21]
After leaving the NFL, he turned to theCanadian Football League (CFL) for employment. Palmer had been drafted 15th overall by theMontreal Alouettes in the2001 CFL draft.[22] His rights were still held by Montreal; however, theOttawa Renegades tried to acquire the Ottawa native as their top quarterback in September 2005, and Palmer expressed interest in playing for his home town.[23]
On September 11, 2006, the Montreal Alouettes signed him to their developmental roster.[22] Palmer did not dress for a game with Montreal. He retired from the CFL before the start of the 2007 season to pursue a broadcasting career.[24]
In 2004, Palmer was the first professional athlete to appear onThe Bachelor television program and the first non-American Bachelor. During the first rose ceremony, Palmer called the name Katie in error, meaning to say Karen. After consulting with hostChris Harrison, Palmer offered a rose to both contestants.[25] He eventually selectedJessica Bowlin, but their courtship lasted for only a few months after the end of the show.[26][27] He would return as host ofthe 26th season, a role which he also filled onthe 19th season ofThe Bachelorette.[28] Palmer also hostedBachelor In Paradise, Season 8.[29] He is currently host ofThe Bachelor franchises.[30] This includesThe Golden Bachelor, the first season of which aired in Fall of 2023.
Palmer's broadcasting career began withFox Sports Net analyzingArena Football League games. He was later a game and studio analyst forCSTV in late 2005 and worked NFL games for Fox in 2006. He also appeared on theNFL Network and theMSG Network.[2]
Palmer was acolor commentator forFox for two games late in the 2005 season, and returned to the booth on November 26, 2006.[citation needed] On April 25, 2007, Palmer appeared on theNFL Network as ananalyst and commentator for the weekend'sNFL draft.[citation needed]
On May 24, 2007, Palmer announced his retirement from the Canadian Football League to pursue a broadcasting career with Fox.[31] He joinedESPN in 2007.[32] Palmer worked for ESPN as a studio analyst onCollege Football Live andABC telecasts, and frequently appeared with fellow CanadianJohn Saunders until 2017.[32] He was a game analyst onESPN Thursday Night College football games. He was also co-host on The Palmer and Pollack Show on ESPNU with former Georgia defensive end,David Pollack.[32][33]
On March 12, 2014, ESPN named Palmer andBrent Musburger as the lead game announcers for the forthcomingSEC Network.[34]
Palmer was also New York correspondent forCTV's entertainment news programeTalk, covering both sports and entertainment events, including theSuper Bowl and the79th and80th Academy Awards.[35]
Palmer was a studio analyst for ESPN's broadcast of the2012 Cotton Bowl inDallas, Texas, the2010 Fiesta Bowl inGlendale, Arizona, and the2009 Rose Bowl inPasadena, California.[citation needed] He was the ESPN analyst for the2023 Orange Bowl inMiami Gardens, Florida. He is also an NFL analyst forTSN's "Monday Morning Quarterback" segment.[36]
Palmer guest starred in theLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit season 7 episode "Design," portraying professional baseball player Don Lacey. He hosted the first two seasons of the food competition showRecipe to Riches onFood Network Canada.[37] On May 19, 2015, Palmer joinedGood Morning America as a "Special Contributor". He left the position in August 2017 to host the newly launchedDailyMailTV.[38] He began hostingSpring Baking Championship in 2023 and has been hosting theHoliday Baking Championship for several seasons on Food Network,[39] as well asFood Truck Face Off,Bakeaway Camp,[40] andHoliday Baking: Gingerbread Showdown.[41] In 2019, he became one of the commentators on ESPN'sCollege Football Final.
In September 2018, Palmer began doing commercials as a spokesman for retail furniture chain Rooms To Go.[42] He also became host ofThe Proposal on ABC.
On August 14, 2020, the producers ofDailyMailTV announced that for the show's fourth season,Thomas Roberts was replacing Palmer.[43]
In 2021, Palmer hosted the inaugural season of ABC's showThe Ultimate Surfer. Subsequently, it was announced that he would become the new host ofThe Bachelor, Season 26, replacingChris Harrison.[44] He then hostedThe Bachelorette,[45] Season 19, andBachelor In Paradise, Season 8.[29] He is currently host ofThe Bachelor franchises.[30]
In October 2023, he became the spokesman for Avocados from Mexico.[46]
Palmer is married to Brazilian photographer and model Emely Fardo. They met at a boxing class in 2017 and married in Connecticut in 2020. After pandemic restrictions eased, they had a second wedding at Château De La Gaude, a luxury hotel inAix-en-Provence, France in 2022. Their daughter was born in January 2024.[47]
