Jesse Palmer, star of The Bachelor season five, reportedly retired from his professional football career last Thursday, May 24.

Palmer, a 28-year old native of Toronto, Ontario, was best known as a pro football quarterback and one-time reality television star on The Bachelor. He appeared on the reality dating show in the spring of 2004, in which he had the opportunity to choose among a group of single women. In the end, he presented his final rose to Jessica Bowlin. Instead of proposing marriage to the 22-year old Californian law school student, he decided to offer her with a one-way ticket to join him in New York. However, his relationship with Bowlin went down the drain as the couple announced a mutual break-up not even a month after The Bachelor aired its final season 5 episode.

Previously, Palmer played in the NFL for the New York Giants but lost his role as the Giant’s backup quarterback to another reality TV-related football player, Tim Hasselbeck, husband of former Survivor: The Australian Outback castaway Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is now one of the host of The View. Consequently, the team cut him in 2005.

Following his stint with the Giants, Palmer worked as a commentator on Fox for two 2005 game broadcasts. Eventually, he returned to the field and continued his football career as a player for NFL’s San Francisco 49ers and CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

He spent the second half of last season on the Alouettes’ developmental roster, which prompted many football fans to speculate that this was what pushed Palmer to give up professional football.

Jim Popp, the team’s coach and general manager, explained that his decision to stick with veteran quarterback Anthony Calvillo for the upcoming CFL season over Palmer did not effect Palmer’s decision to leave. He said, "From the day Jesse Palmer joined the team until he decided he would retire, it was always clear that until Anthony Calvillo was beat out, he will be the quarterback."

-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist


Source: RealityTV World

_{(Photo Courtesy of MSNBC)}