“Pretty much after that first day. I was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta put a ring on her hand,'” Ferguson admitted.
DALLAS — While Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are the power couple of the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys have a public love story of their own.
Jake Ferguson still remembers the moment.
The Cowboys tight end was golfing with “the fellas” when a notification popped up on his Instagram feed.
A ‘Like’ on his post from Haley Cavinder.
“I remember launching my phone and was like, ‘Let’s go!'” Ferguson demonstrated.
The ‘Like’ led to a DM (direct message) from Ferguson.
Soon after, the two met up in Florida, where Jake has family and Haley played college basketball. Their first date quickly turned into 10 straight days of hanging out together in Florida.
“Pretty much after that first day. I was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta put a ring on her hand,'” Ferguson admitted.
At the time, Haley was a college hoops star at the University of Miami along with her twin sister Hanna. The Cavinder Twins — as they’re known on social media — rose to fame thanks to NIL deals and popular digital content.
“To be completely honest, I just was not in the position to really wanna dive deep into a professional athlete [relationship] and just like the lifestyle,” Cavinder explained. “You hear horror stories nowadays, and I never wanna be a part of that. My dad always told me, ‘Never date a professional athlete.’ And then he met Jake, and he’s like, ‘You’re gonna marry this guy’ and I’m like, ‘I know.’”
But, their shared experience of playing sports at a high level helped forge their bond.
“I get what it feels like to lose a game or be competitive, and he always helped me with basketball in that way too,” Cavinder said.
For Jake, it was her heart — not her highlight reel — that sealed it.
“The way she treats people. That’s my first thing, the way she treats people,” Ferguson noted. “She’s awesome. And she’s a competitor, so I love that too.”
Ferguson recalled a moment between the two at his residence community pool.
“She found a ball and we started throwing and I threw her a bad ball and she one-handed it and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m marrying her,'” Ferguson grinned.
In April 2025, Ferguson proposed to Cavinder in Florida.
“I got down on one knee and then everything I had planned just went out the window,” Ferguson recalled. “I don’t even remember what I said.”
In August 2025, another NFL tight end who wears No. 87 — Travis Kelce — made headlines for his proposal to mega celebrity Taylor Swift.
“I don’t really look at them and compare because she’s Taylor Swift,” Cavinder said. “But, they are great humans. And being able to just even meet her was insane. I’m a huge Swiftie.”
The 24-year-old Cavinder and 26-year-old Ferguson saw Swift perform in June when she made a surprise appearance in Nashville at the annual Tight End University, where a bunch of tight ends congregate to train and spend time together.
Next June, Ferguson and Cavinder will tie the knot in Florida — as they prepare for happily ever after.
“Moving in with Ferg after he proposed, I think it was easy,” Cavinder started. “I mean, we had some things. He’s a little messier. I’m very clean, so I’m like, ‘Ferg, pick this up’ and he’ll be like, ‘My back’s hurting today, Haley.’ I’m like, ‘Here we go, pick it up.’”
They don’t say ‘I do’ until June, but it sure seems like they’ve been married for years.