America’s Sweethearts, the Netflix series chronicling the grueling lives of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, is back with a major update: The women are getting a raise, and it’s a pretty big one. In episode seven of the second season, which was released last night, the team announces that the cheerleaders, who are classified as part-time employees, are set to receive a 400 percent pay bump. The show doesn’t reveal any further specifics about the deal, and the women’s pay rates have not previously been made public. Former cheerleader Jada McLean, however, told the New York Times that during her fifth season with the team in 2024, she made $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance. The compensation rates varied based on experience, she added, meaning veterans have more earning capacity than rookies. With that math, it seems longtime veterans could now be making up to $75 an hour, though the Cowboys declined to specify the rates to the Times.
In an industry that has historically paid its cheerleaders meager wages, this is certainly good news — though not without a few caveats. For one, the women are still not fully employed by the team, which means many of the teammates, as showcased in the first season, are working additional gigs to support themselves financially. (The women are allowed to pursue brand sponsorships so long as there isn’t a conflict of interest with the team’s sponsors.) More crucially, according to McLean, the team still does not provide health insurance for its dancers, though they have access to a team doctor and physical therapist. In the series, DCC director Kelli Finglass, who called the raise “60-plus years long overdue,” also touted the team’s “cost saving” measures, which include getting the women free spray tans, hair extensions, and Botox.
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One of the key story lines in the second season is a group of veterans’ push to increase their wages at the risk of their good standing with the team. McLean and Armani Latimer, in particular, brought up their concerns to management before signing their contracts for the year, but “were met with, ‘Okay, we hear you and we understand where you’re coming from; unfortunately, this is just not the time for that,’” McLean told the Times. Elsewhere in the series, some of the women consider staging a walkout to press the issue further. “We are more than just cheerleaders,” McLean added. “We’re talented, strong, educated women and we’re hard-working athletes who deserve to be seen as such.”
While the Cowboys Cheerleaders’ new rates are a cause for celebration, it’s worth pointing out that this is the most famous NFL cheerleading team in the country. If the women who have their own Netflix show were reportedly making $15 an hour, that doesn’t bode well for teams in lesser-known markets. The news marks a small win in a decades-long history of organizing and lawsuits within the industry and is hopefully the first of many significant raises to come across the league.
