Cooper DeJean isn’t interested in the rivalry headlines. Since the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader started showing up by his side this offseason, the internet has run wild with jokes, theories, and a few not-so-subtle jabs about a Philadelphia Eagle dating a Cowboys cheerleader. DeJean’s response? Less dramatic than the internet wanted.

“We met well, we had known about each other for some time, and then we happened to be both in Florida at the same time during the national championship game,” Cooper DeJean said on Exciting Mics. “She was down there, I was down there, and then I met her down there, and then I believe the next weekend was a Super Bowl, and she was out at the Super Bowl also.

“So we had hung out there a couple times and then yeah, it was kind of just after that we just kept seeing each other, hanging out,” he added. “I don’t really think it’s a conflict of interest. I mean, it’s not like we both play football. Yeah, exactly. We don’t play football. She’s a cheerleader.”

It actually started back in March, at Iowa’s Elite Eight loss to Illinois. Cameras caught DeJean sitting next to Summers for most of the game, and he barely left her side. People noticed. So did Jason Kelce, who joked that he was “pulling a Trojan Horse” by linking up with a Cowboys cheerleader.

Even with the jokes flying, neither DeJean nor Summers said anything publicly. No confirmation, no denial.

The next real moment came in May, at the Kentucky Derby. DeJean showed up at Churchill Downs, and Summers posted a TikTok captioned “Derby timeeee” with the two of them together on the red carpet. This time, the comments gave it away. Several of Summers’ fellow DCC teammates jumped in to show support, the kind of reaction that doesn’t really happen for two people who are just friends.

From there, it kept building. DeJean turned up again in another TikTok from Summers, this one filmed at the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Naval Base Coronado. Two public outings in a matter of months, and the pattern was getting hard to ignore. Through it all, the silence stayed the same.

Photos and TikToks did the talking while DeJean kept his own answers about the situation pretty guarded.

As for who Summers actually is, she’s been dancing since age two and competing since seven, with training across ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and tap, according to her bio on the official team site. That background led her to Ohio State, where she helped the dance team win six national titles before joining the Cowboys cheerleading squad and appearing on Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts.

DeJean, meanwhile, is entering his third NFL season after the Eagles selected him 40th overall in 2024. And despite all the jokes about rivalry and conflict of interest, he has stayed pretty measured and hasn’t said much to fuel the chatter.