Bachelor 2022 is coming soon. This 28-year-old former NFL player was eliminated during Michelle Young's season of The Bachelor. The premiere of Season 26 of "The Bachelor" can be seen right after the New Year.

Clayton's appointment to the next Bachelor was first confirmed by Reality's Steve Carbon in September, before Michelle's season began. Carbon also began releasing information and photos about the contestants and filming for Season 26.

However, ABC remained silent for several weeks, and fans picked apart Clayton's appearance on "The Bachelorette," which was still on the air. Finally, in week 6, Michelle eliminated Clayton after their first one-on-one date.

Now Clayton embarks on his own journey to find love - which, according to interviews he has given, is apparently succeeding.

Here's what we know so far about The Bachelor 2022.

ABC has set the premiere date for The Bachelor 2022 for Monday, January 3 on ABC.

Season 26 will be hosted for the first time by Jesse Palmer, former NFL quarterback and star of Season 5 of The Bachelor. Since appearing on the show, he has worked as a college football analyst for ESPN and host of ABC's short-lived reality series The Proposal.

Palmer's background seems a perfect fit for Clayton's season, the host noted in an Instagram post:

Clayton Eckardt is a 28-year-old medical sales representative from Columbia, Missouri. He played football as a walk-on at the University of Missouri and helped his team win back-to-back SEC championships. Clayton played briefly in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks.

He currently works in medical sales and is pursuing an MBA with the goal of starting his own business. His mother is a teacher, which Clayton mentioned several times during his appearances on The Bachelorette (as Michelle is also a teacher).

According to his Bachelorette profile, he has "good looks, a great job, and a wonderful family. The only thing missing is the perfect woman to share his life with."

Clayton describes his ideal woman as "funny, independent, intelligent, and athletic enough to work out with at the gym."

ABC finally confirmed what everyone knew - that Clayton was the next Bachelor - in a first-look teaser trailer that aired after Michelle's hometown dating episode.

The trailer opens with a bunch of women yelling "Clayton!" and then moves on to a shot of a shirtless Clayton running on the beach, Baywatch style. It then shows the Bachelor kissing several (many) women. And, of course, the trailer gives us our first glimpse of a potential villain among the cast.

In September, ABC announced 33 women as potential contestants for the Clayton season of The Bachelor. A list of their names, ages, and hometowns follows:

For the first time since Peter Weber's 2020 season of The Bachelor, the show returned to the iconic Los Angeles mansion for the first few weeks of filming the Clayton installment.

The pandemic forced both "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" to film "in a bubble" at the resort. Claire Crawley, Tasia Adams, Matt James, and Katie Thurston all filmed in one location. Michelle's season was the first season to move between multiple locations.

Clayton's season seems to be "back on track." The show will begin at the famous Villa de la Vina mansion in Agoura Hills, California. According to spoiler photos, Clayton and the contestants will then move to Houston, Texas and Toronto, Canada.

The cast will then head to Vienna, Austria and Croatia. Clayton and the final four women will have hometown dates (in their actual hometowns.) Reality Steve reported that the fantasy suite overnight date and finale were filmed in Iceland.

As usual, Reality Steve already has spoilers for Clayton's season of The Bachelor. He tweeted that the first impression rose was received by Teddy Wright, 24, from Redlands, California.

Carbone also revealed Clayton's four finalists. They are Susie Evans, Rachel Recchia, Selene Russell, and Gabby Windy. Check out their photos below:

And of course, the big question: will Clayton get engaged? And with whom.

So far, Carbone has not revealed the details. However, Clayton himself suggested in an interview with People that he will end up happily engaged.

"I've found love," he said. 'But it worked out much better than I thought it would, and I'm very surprised. Again, I can't wait to look back on it and have everyone else see it too."

I'm looking for something to watch while I wait for the next "Bachelor," and here's how to watch "This Is Us" Season 6.