Cleveland Browns player Joe Royer probably expected football fans to be talking about touchdowns, training camp, and his future with the team.
Instead, the internet decided it had a different game plan. The 24-year-old found himself trending after social media detectives apparently uncovered an alleged relationship between him and 18-year-old Rilee Stepp, the daughter of one of his former coaches. And as always, the online crowd responded with anger.
On Monday, one social media account highlighted a number of posts online in recent months which appeared to indicate that Royer had been dating Rilee Stepp.
Stepp, 18, is the daughter of Royer’s former tight ends coach Josh Stepp, whom he worked with while playing for the Cincinnati Bearcats between 2024 and 2025.
One post on social media, by coach Stepp, showed Royer alongside the 18-year-old – and the rest of the Stepp family – at her recent high school graduation on May 30.
Coach Stepp has since deleted the post.
Another post from Rilee’s Instagram, which was public but has since gone private, showed her wearing a ‘Royer 11’ jersey on the sidelines of a Bearcats game last season.
Another post by coach Stepp on X, in November, showed the family alongside Royer and former Bearcats teammate Patrick Gurd after a game against BYU.
In that photo, Royer was standing alongside Rilee, who appeared to be wearing a custom-designed top which had his ‘No. 11’ across it.
Coach Stepp’s caption to the post on X read: ‘Hard to put into words what these two mean to me personally, my girls & our TE room!
‘Incredibly thankful for all they’ve done for our TE room & this entire program! Let’s go finish this thing the right way! Love you both!!! #FAMILY @JoeRoyer25 @gurd45’.
The age gap quickly became the center of attention. Critics flooded social media with jokes, memes, and enough sarcastic comments to keep the internet running for another decade.
Elsewhere, internet sleuths also pointed towards an Instagram post by Royer on the same day back in November, which came shortly after their final game of the season.
Royer had shared a picture alongside his family. In the comments, Rilee had shared a ‘love heart’ emoji, which Royer ‘liked’ in response.
Fans have since began speculating as to when the relationship began, given that Rilee only turned 18 back in September, according to a post by her father.
Whether the alleged relationship turns out to be exactly what fans think or something completely different, one thing is already clear: Joe Royer has become the latest athlete to discover that social media never takes a day off.
