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‘Bachelorette’ Contestant Dale Moss Had an Unconventional Football Career in the NFL
It’s been a ride! Bachelorette contestant Dale Moss had an unconventional career in the NFL before vying for Clare Crawley’s heart during season 16. Learn about his football stats, what teams he played for and more below!
The 32-year-old South Dakota native wasn’t originally on track to play football. “My journey to the NFL was a lot different than most people,” the wide receiver explained during an interview while modeling for Express in 2019. “I was actually a college basketball player, and I never wanted to think ‘what if?’ so I worked extremely hard, had great people around me and it gave me an opportunity in the NFL.”
While attending South Dakota State University, he only played on the football team for one year. In just nine games, he scored six touchdowns and had 61 receptions for 949 yards, which is extremely impressive.
Upon graduating, Dale was signed as a free agent to the Green Bay Packers, meaning he was allowed to solicit offers from other teams but had restrictions in place from his contract.
After being cut from the Packers in 2012, Dale played on the practice squads for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears.
“Teams use practice squads to keep players who have potential but need development,” SB Nation explained, noting the teams usually consist of 10 players. While he may not have seen any action on the main field, Dale still made an impressive living. “Practice squad players must be paid at least $8,000 per week … that amounts to $136,000 for the year,” SB Nation said about the 2019 season.
The “Game Plan” podcast host’s next stop was the Carolina Panthers in 2013, where he was briefly signed and then waived from the team. However, that didn’t discourage Dale from participating in the sport he loved. He then played for the Los Angeles Kiss, an Arena Football League team owned by KISS musicians Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. It turned out, the AFL had two big benefits.
“Arena football was a learning experience for me and gave me another opportunity to keep my NFL dream going. I had decided to do it as a way to stay in shape and create some film in the offseason – and it also allowed me the opportunity to go to L.A.,” he told SportsSkeeda in 2018. “I’ve always known I wanted a career in speaking and entertainment, and being in L.A. really allowed me to start exploring that.”
Dale’s final stint in the NFL was in 2014 when he briefly played for the Chicago Bears because wide received Terrence Toliver suffered an injury. During his month on the team, the Bachelor Nation stud had three catches for 36 yards, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Dale is not the only football player on Clare’s season. Jason Foster played as an offensive lineman for the Bucs from 2013 to 2014. Eazy (real name Uzoma Nwachukwu) played in the NFL for four years. Matt James, who skipped season 16 to become the new Bachelor, was cut from the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans’ Saints in 2015.
There are some seriously athletic men in Bachelor Nation! If you can’t wait for the finale, see season 16 spoilers here.
