Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark sent a message to Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean after his historic Super Bowl LIX performance, despite being a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.

DeJean, who played football at the University of Iowa during Clark's record-setting college basketball career, revealed that he received a congratulatory text from the NCAA all-time leading scorer while appearing on Up and Adams with Kay Adams on Wednesday (February 12).

“She sent me a nice message congratulating me,” DeJean said on the program. “That was nice of her being a Chiefs fan and all.”

DeJean returned an interception for a touchdown during the Eagles' Super Bowl LIX win against the Chiefs Sunday (February 9) night, which happened to fall on his 22nd birthday.

“I’ve never seen my dad get that excited before about a play I made,” DeJean told Adams of his parents attending the Super Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. “That was pretty emotional watching that back. I’m just glad they get to experience it with me.”

“He almost started crying when I gave him a big huge,” DeJean added while speaking about his father. “He actually brought up draft day. He said, ‘Just think about how disappointed you were on draft day, and now here you are.'”

DeJean's Super Bowl performance capped off a stellar rookie campaign in which he recorded 51 tackles, six passes defended, three tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one QB hit while making nine starts in 16 appearances during the regular season.

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, won the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year award and was named TIME Magazine's 2024 Athlete of the Year during her first pro season. The former Iowa standout averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds during her rookie season, setting WNBA records for assists in a single-season (337) and game (19), as well as rookie records for points (769), assists, 3-pointers (122) and triple-doubles (2), leading the Fever to a playoff berth before being eliminated by the Connecticut Sun in the first-round.

This story is brought to you by the Women's Sports Audio Network (WSAN). WSAN is the first-ever audio platform dedicated exclusively to women's sports. WSAN celebrates female athletes and gives an in-depth look into their personal experiences in and out of their respective sports. Check out more on the WSAN site.

Dennis Manoloff