What is Colton Underwood's net worth?
Colton Underwood is an American reality television personality and former professional football player who has a net worth of $1 million. He played defensive end at Illinois State before catching the eye of the San Diego Chargers who scooped him up as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He also attended practice sessions with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles squads. After the Raiders released him, he made a surprising career switch to reality TV, appearing on the 14th season of The Bachelorette. His charm and charisma led to him being named the lead for the 23rd season of The Bachelor. He made history as the first lead in The Bachelor franchise to come out as gay.
Early Life and Education
Colton Scott Underwood-Brown was born on January 26, 1992 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Scott and Donna Underwood both of whom were star athletes at Illinois State University: Scott played college football while Donna played volleyball. Like his dad, Colton attended Washington Community High School and graduated in 2010. He then joined Illinois State University where he continued following in his father's footsteps, playing college football for the Redbirds.
Football Career
On May 10, 2014 the San Diego Chargers signed Underwood as an undrafted free agent and waived him in August of the same year. The Philadelphia Eagles picked him up in September and included him in their practice squad but released him just a few days later.
On September 23, 2014 Underwood returned to the Chargers and was signed to their practice squad. He worked his socks off and was finally offered a future contract on December 29. He was waived yet again on September 5, 2015 and placed on injured reserve the next day before being waived from injured reserve as well.
On December 1, 2015 Underwood was signed to the Oakland Raiders' practice squad who later released him on August 29, 2016.
(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Reality Television
Underwood was a contestant on the 14th season of The Bachelorette starring Becca Kufrin. Following his elimination during week 8 after the hometown dates, Underwood returned to reality TV for the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise. Sparks initially flew between him and fellow contestant Tia Booth but the romance fizzled out, leading to their breakup and their separate exits from Paradise in the fourth week.
On September 4, 2018 ABC announced that Colton Underwood would be the leading man for the 23rd season of The Bachelor. Social media lit up with a blend of cheers and jeers. By September 21 Colton had already started filming for the show and he had even crossed paths with three of his future contestants on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
On April 14, 2021 Variety reported that Underwood was working on his own unscripted series for Netflix titled "Coming Out Colton". The six-episode show produced by Jeff Jenkins was slated for release on December 3, 2021. Throughout the show, Underwood engages with various openly gay public figures such as Gus Kenworthy, Michael Sam and CMT host Cody Alan. The series faced significant criticism with Daniel D'Addario from Variety stating that it's a distasteful extension of a brand that doesn't mean much to begin with.
In 2024 Underwood competed in season eleven of "The Masked Singer" as "Lovebird". Unfortunately, he got booted on "Transformers Night".
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Charity Work
In January 2016 Colton established the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation to raise funds for cystic fibrosis research and medical equipment. He started the foundation after his cousin was diagnosed with the disease. In January 2018 the foundation launched the Legacy Project which aimed to distribute AffloVests (chest wall oscillation devices that help clear excess mucus from the lungs) to kids across every state in the US.
Personal Life
Underwood dated gymnast Aly Raisman from 2016 to 2017. He then began dating speech pathology student Cassie Randolph from 2018 until 2020. They met on season 23 of The Bachelor. In September 2020 Randolph filed a restraining order against Underwood alleging that he stalked her. She dropped the restraining order in November.
On April 14, 2021 Underwood publicly came out as gay on Good Morning America, becoming the first lead in The Bachelor franchise to do so. He soon started dating Democratic strategist Jordan C. Brown. The two got engaged shortly after Colton's 30th birthday and married on May 13, 2023. On May 21, 2024 Men's Health magazine announced that the couple was expecting a child due in October 2024. They used an egg donor and surrogate for the pregnancy.
