Jesse Palmer

Jesse James Palmer (born October 5, 1978) is a Canadian-born sports commentator and former college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons in the early 2000s. Palmer played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants of the NFL before spending half a season in 2006 in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes. Palmer was cast in 2004 as the bachelor on the fifth season of the reality television series The Bachelor. He is now a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC in the U.S. and a football analyst for TSN in Canada.

Early years
Palmer was born in Toronto, Ontario, and raised in Nepean, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario. He attended St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Ontario. His father, Bill Palmer, played for the Ottawa Rough Riders.

College career
Palmer received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1997 to 2000. Palmer often alternated playing time with quarterback Doug Johnson, and later, with quarterback Rex Grossman. Memorably, he connected with Bo Carroll on a 75-yard topuchdown pass play, and rushed for four touchdowns against the Kentucky Wildcats in 2000. 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.

Palmer graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with two undergraduate degrees: a bachelor of arts in political science from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and a bachelor of science in marketing from the College of Business Administration.

NFL
Palmer was chosen by the New York Giants in the fourth round (125th overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft, and he played for the Giants for four seasons from 2001 to 2004. As a Giants quarterback, he spent most of his NFL career as a backup behind starter Kerry Collins. After a four-year stint as a backup quarterback, Palmer was cut on September 2, 2005 by the Giants. Jesse Palmer was the second Canadian (behind Mark Rypien of the Washington Redskins) to start at the quarterback position in the NFL.

CFL
At first, wanting to stay in the game, he looked to the Canadian Football League for employment. His rights were held by the Montreal Alouettes; however, the Ottawa Renegades tried to acquire the Ottawa native as their top quarterback, and Palmer expressed interest in playing for his home town. Palmer's agent reportedly asked for a three year contract in the neighborhood of $660,000 per year, which would have made Jesse the highest paid player in the league. Attempting to locate another opportunity to stay in the NFL, Palmer worked out with the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders and was temporarily signed by the San Francisco 49ers on November 1, 2005 as injuries plagued their quarterbacks Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey. Shortly after Dorsey and then Smith returned from injury Palmer was released, without playing a down.

Palmer was re-signed a few months later by the 49ers during the 2006 off-season but was later released on August 29, 2006 toward the end of training camp. On September 11, 2006, the Montreal Alouettes signed him to their developmental roster. 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.

The Bachelor
In the spring of 2004, Palmer appeared on The Bachelor television program and he made himself the first non-American bachelor, in which he was given his choice of eligible single women. He accidentally forgot one woman's name during the first rose ceremony. He eventually selected Jessica Bowlin, but their courtship lasted for only a few months after the end of the show.

Broadcasting career
Palmer was a color commentator for Fox for two games late in the 2005 season, and returned to the booth on November 26, 2006. On April 25, 2007, Palmer appeared on the NFL Network as an analyst and commentator for the weekend's NFL Draft.

On May 24, 2007, Palmer announced his retirement from the Canadian Football League to pursue a broadcasting career with Fox. Palmer currently works for ESPN as a studio analyst on College Football Live and ABC telecasts, usually appearing with fellow Canadian John Saunders. He is a game analyst on ESPN Thursday Night College football games.

Palmer is also New York correspondent for CTV's entertainment news program, eTalk, covering both sports and entertainment events, including the Super Bowl and the 79th and 80th Academy Awards.

Palmer was the studio analyst for ESPN's broadcast of the 2010 Fiesta Bowl in Glendale Arizona

Palmer also commentated on ESPN's 2009 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

He's also an NFL analyst for TSN's "Monday Morning Quarterback" segment.

Palmer guest starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

He also is the host of the food competition show Recipe To Riches debuting on Food Network Canada in October 2011.

Personal
Palmer has lived in Hoboken, New Jersey since 2005, in the same building as former Giants teammate Eli Manning and the former Governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine.