Bachelor Nation loves to crown its heroes, but long before the rose ceremonies, a surprising number of them were already competing for a living. Across nearly 25 years of the franchise, more than 30 former NCAA athletes and a handful of true pros have shown up looking for love. Here’s the breakdown.
The Legit Pros
A small tier of contestants had careers that would hold up in any sports bar argument.
Clay Harbor (Bachelorette S14) is the clear GOAT of the group. A Missouri State standout, he was actually drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, started games, and finished his NFL career with over 1,100 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns across stops with the Eagles, Jaguars, Patriots, Lions, and Saints.
Jesse Palmer (Bachelor S5) spent four seasons as a Giants backup quarterback plus a run with the 49ers, becoming the show’s first professional athlete lead after a standout run at Florida. He later turned that platform into a full broadcasting career: ESPN, the NFL Network, and eventually the Bachelor host chair itself.
Bryan Witzmann (Bachelorette S18) bounced through nearly a dozen rosters as an offensive lineman but did see real playing time, including a stretch with the Chiefs during their Super Bowl contending years.
Jordan Rodgers (Bachelorette S12), yes, Aaron’s brother, quarterbacked Vanderbilt to back to back bowl games before making practice squads with three NFL teams and briefly trying the CFL. He proposed to JoJo Fletcher on the show and they’re still together.
Dale Moss (Bachelorette S16) is a rare two sport case: a four year basketball player at South Dakota State who then switched to football for a single senior season, put up 949 receiving yards, and got signed as an undrafted free agent by the Packers before bouncing through several practice squads.
The Practice Squad Pipeline
The much bigger tier is guys who got a uniform but rarely, or never, saw a regular season snap. Ryan Sutter (Colorado), Jeff Popovich (Miami, FL), and Jason Foster (Rhode Island) all fit this mold, alongside Ryan Hoag, Damon Bowers, and Uzoma Nwachukwu.
Tyler Cameron and Matt James, both Wake Forest products, are probably the most recognizable names in this tier. James stuck it out as a Demon Deacon receiver for his full four years and later bounced through NFL practice squads, while Cameron began at Wake Forest as a backup quarterback before transferring to Florida Atlantic, where he switched to tight end and averaged 12.4 yards per catch before a shoulder injury ended his shot with the Ravens.
Colton Underwood is the most discussed case in this tier: he built a public persona around football despite never playing a regular season down, though his Illinois State career was genuinely strong (3rd in school history in tackles for loss, a two time Buck Buchanan Award finalist for FCS’s top defensive player).
Several of these guys also passed through NFL Europe, the Arena Football League, or the CFL. Ryan Sutter and Jeff Popovich both played for the Barcelona Dragons, a strange little Bachelor pipeline of its own. It’s a far cry from today’s landscape, where college football athletes can build fan support and NIL income before ever setting foot on an NFL practice field.
Beyond the Gridiron
Football dominates the list, but the franchise has cast plenty of other sports:
- Olympians and elite amateurs: Andy LeRoy (alpine skier, competed at Nagano 1998 — see how today’s winter Olympians are building their NIL profiles ahead of Milano Cortina 2026), Adam Duvendeck (two time Olympic track cyclist), Josh Cox (Olympic trials marathoner and ultramarathon record holder)
- Baseball: Josh Murray (drafted 48th overall by the Brewers, six years in the minors), Zac Clark (York College pitcher, later “won” Tayshia Adams’ season), Justin Sherrod (six years in the Red Sox farm system) — browse today’s college baseball athletes building their own NIL profiles
- Soccer: Juan Pablo Galavis (pro in Venezuela before becoming the franchise’s first Hispanic Bachelor), Mandy Clemens (a founding player of the U.S.’s first women’s pro soccer league and two time college All American at Santa Clara) — compare to today’s college soccer athletes building NIL profiles
- Hockey: Harold Hersh, who spent over a decade in the Montreal Canadiens’ farm system (a path outside the NCAA system that today’s college hockey athletes increasingly bypass thanks to NIL opportunities)
- Wrestling: Kenny Layne, who’s wrestled professionally for over a decade as “Kenny King” in WWE, TNA, and Ring of Honor (a different path from today’s college wrestling athletes building their NIL profiles before ever turning pro)
- Basketball: Michael Black (a standout at Albany who played pro ball in Bulgaria) and Michelle Young, one of only two women NCAA athletes on the list, who shares Bradley’s single game scoring record (38 points) — see today’s college basketball athletes building the same kind of following
Sean Lowe, one of the franchise’s genuine long term success stories, played football at Kansas State before his NFL dream ended sophomore year.
The Cheerleaders and Dancers
The Bleacher Report ranking widens the lens to include NFL and NBA cheer and dance squads, and a few names put up serious tenure. Jenni Croft logged three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys plus stints with the Heat and Suns, Trista Sutter danced for the Miami Heat before becoming the franchise’s first ever Bachelorette, and Melissa Rycroft spent three years as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader before her infamous Jason Mesnick season. None of that had an NCAA equivalent at the time; today’s closest parallel is Stunt, the fast growing collegiate sport built directly from competitive cheer, where athletes can now build NIL profiles of their own.
The Coincidence Nobody Talks About
Of the two female athletes to ever appear as contestants, Mandy Clemens (Bachelor S5) and Michelle Young (Bachelor S25), Clemens is arguably the most accomplished athlete, male or female, in the show’s history: a two time First Team All American, the 1999 Hermann Trophy winner (college soccer’s Heisman), and a founding player of the U.S.’s first professional women’s soccer league. She got cut in week two.
One More Thing: These Guys Played Before NIL Existed
It’s worth pointing out that almost every athlete on this list competed in college well before name, image, and likeness rules changed the game in 2021. Guys like Clay Harbor, Jesse Palmer, and Jordan Rodgers built their college fame the old way, with zero opportunity to monetize it while they were still wearing a school jersey. A NIL deal, a formal, compensated agreement between an athlete and a brand, collective, or business, simply wasn’t on the table for them.
Today’s version of Colton Underwood or Dale Moss wouldn’t have to wait for reality TV to turn college notoriety into a paycheck. Whether it’s a Missouri State standout or a South Dakota State two sport star, current athletes can build that following, and get paid for it, well before their senior year ends.
