Palmer played college football for the Florida Gators under coach Steve Spurrier, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL before spending half of the 2006 season with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

He went on to become a college football analyst for ESPN/ABC in the United States,[2] and has been a contributor to The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada.

[15] As a Giants quarterback, he spent most of his NFL career as a backup behind starter Kerry Collins.

[18] Attempting to locate another opportunity to stay in the NFL, Palmer worked out with the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders and was signed by the San Francisco 49ers on November 1, 2005, as injuries plagued their quarterbacks Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey.

[20] Palmer was re-signed by the 49ers in March 2006 during the off-season, but was released on August 29, 2006, toward the end of training camp.

During the first rose ceremony, Palmer called the name Katie in error, meaning to say Karen.

Palmer's broadcast career began with Fox Sports Net analyzing Arena Football League games.

[2] Palmer was a color commentator for Fox for two games late in the 2005 season, and returned to the booth on November 26, 2006.

[citation needed] On May 24, 2007, Palmer announced his retirement from the Canadian Football League to pursue a broadcasting career with Fox.

[32] Palmer worked for ESPN as a studio analyst on College Football Live and ABC telecasts, and frequently appeared with fellow Canadian John Saunders until 2017.

[32][33] On March 12, 2014, ESPN named Palmer and Brent Musburger as the lead game announcers for the forthcoming SEC Network.

[36] Palmer guest starred in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 7 episode "Design," portraying professional baseball player Don Lacey.

In September 2018, Palmer began doing commercials as a spokesman for retail furniture chain Rooms To Go.

On August 14, 2020, the producers of DailyMailTV announced that for the show's fourth season, Thomas Roberts was replacing Palmer.

After pandemic restrictions eased, they had a second wedding at Château De La Gaude, a luxury hotel in Aix-en-Provence, France in 2022.