Me last week: He didn’t care at all about cheerleading; he could barely recognize a pom-pom.
Me this week: whole personality is Netflix’s new documentary series, America’s favorites: Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.
If you haven’t seen it yet or are just curious about DCC, the docuseries pulls back the curtain on the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders’ 2023 season, from auditions (only 36 girls make it) to training camp and the playoffs. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wonder if DCC is considered a cult, and your jaw will drop. Floor when you find out how much the cheerleaders earn. And… not in a good way.
Before we get into it, we want to point out that the DCC are much more than “just cheerleaders.” Yes, a big part of their job is learning dozens of routines (including the iconic “Thunderstruck”), but they are also brand ambassadors for the Dallas Cowboys. They work every game, they go to events, they interact with fans, and they release an annual calendar, all while facing tremendous criticism, pressure, and body shaming—not just from fans, but from the “powers that be” of the Dallas Cowboys. Basically, it’s a lot of extremely physical and emotional labor, and you would think they would make money. But that is not the case.
How much do the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders make?
Not enough!
The question of payment (or lack thereof) is addressed in the first episode of AC: DCC (new acronym I’m trying out, so join me) when former Team Kat cheerleader reveals she made about as much as a full-time employee at Chick-fil-A (which seems to be around $37,947).
Even more shocking is that the owner and Chief Brand Officer of the Dallas Cowboys, Charlotte Jones, white how little the team earns and is it … satisfied with that? In fact, those in charge seem to be of the opinion that the team should be happy to be paid at all.
“There’s a lot of cynicism about how much NFL cheerleaders are paid — and that’s a good thing,” Jones said. “They don’t make a lot. But the fact is, they’re not coming here for the money. They’re coming here for something that’s actually bigger to them. They have a passion for dance. There aren’t many opportunities in the field of dance to perform at an elite level. It’s about being part of something bigger than themselves. It’s about a sisterhood that they’ve been able to form. It’s about relationships that they have for the rest of their lives. They have a chance to feel valued, that they’re special and that they’re making a difference.”
You can still feel all these things and get paid well for it! And if you also feel that it is absolutely wild When the person responsible for paying the DCC admits that they “don’t get paid much,” viewers wholeheartedly agree with you.
Now also seems like a good time to point out that the average salary of an NFL player is $2.8 million, while the minimum salary is $705,000.
Previously they earned even less
The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders used to be paid just $15 per game (that amount increased to $35 in the 1980s), and many of the early cheerleaders said they were “surprised” to get paid at all because they thought it was a “position of honor.”
Meanwhile, former cheerleader Tina Kalina told Netflix’s documentary team, “These millennials, the X-generation, whatever they call them, see it as a job, whereas us old-timers see it more as a privilege.”
A cheerleader is sued for lack of pay
In 2018, cheerleader Erica Wilkins sued the Cowboys, claiming she only made $4,700 after taxes for the year. She also claimed cheerleaders were only paid $8.00 per hour for practice and did not work overtime. The lawsuit was settled and cheerleaders’ game day pay was increased to $400 per game. Which, in my opinion, is still several thousand dollars too little.
In the meantime HuffingtonPost spoke to an anonymous former Cowboys cheerleader from 2021 who said she was making $12.50 an hour. She also said cheerleaders are not allowed to supplement their income through sponsorships or influencing, meaning almost all of them have to work full-time jobs in addition to full-time training:
“It’s kind of a running joke for the girls on the team: The guys on the practice squad who don’t even step on the field half the time get paid $80,000 more than we do a year. And I’m at every single game, dancing like crazy and every other performance, and my face is all over the stars. They don’t even know who these guys on the practice squad are. It’s unfortunate that the way they treat us and pay us doesn’t come close to that, even though they pretend or say that we’re important and the face of the organization.”
This is very disappointing, so we can only hope that the success/popularity of America’s favorites: the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders draws attention to this issue and puts pressure on the Cowboys to PAY.
