Samantha Steele And Christian Ponder Engaged [Report]

Congratulations are reportedly in order for ESPN reporter Samantha Steele and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder.

According to Sports Illustrated, the couple, who began dating earlier this year after meeting on the set of College Gameday, are now engaged to be married.

SI’s Richard Deitsch reported the happy news via Twitter:

Spoke to ESPN’s @Samantha_Steele today. She confirms she is engaged to @VikingsFootball quarterback Christian Ponder.

Prior to their engagement, Ponder and Steele’s relationship was a hot Internet rumor in the early part of the NFL season. Ponder, 24, eventually confirmed the pairing in October after being asked about it by a fan on Twitter.

“I’m proud of the relationship,” Ponder said at the time. “I can brag. I’ve got bragging rights, I believe.”

As for details on how the proposal went down, rumors say that there was a holiday theme involved. Total Frat Move reports the second-year quarterback from Florida State popped the question like this:

“According to a source close to Steele, Ponder proposed with Christmas lights made out to say, ‘Marry Me.’ Steele accepted, and now has an engagement ring that our source says, ‘Looks like a Super Bowl ring.’ “

Check out a picture of Steele’s rock below:

Despite his success off of the gridiron, Christian Ponder has struggled on the field this season. After a quick 4-1 start, the Vikings lost five of their next seven games and are quickly falling in the NFC playoff race. For the year, Ponder has thrown for 2,305 yards with 14 Touch Downs and 11 picks.

His 79.4 passer rating is 25th in the NFL.