You will not believe how much cheerleaders in the NFL make, Perezcious readers! And by that we mean how much they don’t.
The new Netflix documentary America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders gives viewers an inside glimpse into the world of NFL cheerleading, everything from the tryouts to the rigorous practice schedules to the behind-the-scenes of the game season. But the most shocking revelation to come out of the docuseries this week? The NFL cheerleaders are not paid well for all the work they do! Let’s break it down, starting with what goes into the job…
In order to be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, there are some strict guidelines to follow. Per The New York Times, the rules, dating back to 1972, included rigorous fitness regimes, limited social engagements, and strict travel policies, specifically for playoffs and the Super Bowl. A lot of these ancient mandates carried over when the current director, Kelli Finglass, took over.
Nowadays, the cheerleaders go through an intense audition process — including dance evaluations and a written football knowledge test. They also must adhere to the appearance standards of having a more natural look when it comes to hair and makeup. If you watch the documentary Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, you know all about the makeovers! And for the longest time, maintaining a specific body shape was a requirement.
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A lot of that happens BEFORE the women even make the team! Once they are Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, they have a ton of work. Oftentimes, they spend up to 30 to 40 hours each week in mandatory rehearsals throughout the NFL season. Game days are super long, with the cheerleaders arriving hours before kickoff to prepare. All of this also doesn’t even include public appearances. It’s a full-time job for these performers! Although we’re only specifically given a look into how the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders operate, we can imagine other teams are like this as well. So here comes the surprising part…
Despite dedicating so much time and effort to the craft, many of them make next to nothing! America’s Sweethearts director Greg Whiteley told Glamour in June that he “never got a clean answer” about what each Dallas Cowboy cheerleader earned, noting that he believes it’s “because it varies depending on how senior you are in the group.” But let’s put it this way — the salary cap ain’t exactly breakin’ the bank!
Former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader Kat Puryear said in the documentary her salary was equivalent to what a full-time “substitute teacher” or a “Chick-fil-A worker” made. Yikes! It’s so bad many of the women need to keep second jobs to make ends meet! For instance, first group leader Kelcey Wtterberg works as a pediatric registered nurse during the day, while newbie Reece Allman works at a flower shop. That’s in addition to the 40+ hours of cheerleading!
We do have some numbers, though. According to NBC Sports Boston in 2022, most teams pay their cheerleaders somewhere in the neighborhood of $75 to $150 per game, with an annual salary of roughly $22,500.
WHAT?!
To increase their pay, cheerleaders can add more work to their already busy plate by doing public appearances, which reportedly only pay $50 to $75 each. Yeesh.
A Dallas Cowboys cheerleader typically earns more — these are America’s Sweethearts we’re talking about, one of the highest-paid squads in the business! They get paid more like $500 per game. It’s a lot more, but still, it’s barely a livable wage! You expect them to follow all these huge demands, crazy schedules, and put their bodies through hell, then pay them pennies to do it? That is messed up!
It’s no wonder a lot of these cheerleaders need another job — even when they’re already working full-time for their team! And get ready to become furious at this next part. The NFL waterboys and mascots make way more than the cheerleaders do — for doing a lot less! The outlet reported that waterboys make around $53,000 per year while mascots earn $25,000 per season. WTF.
We don’t know how the other NFL cheerleading teams justify their team’s awful salaries, but Dallas Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones weighed in on the issue. And her reasoning is BS. She told the Netflix cameras that cheerleaders “don’t come here for the money,” saying:
“There’s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders — and as it should be. They’re not paid a lot. They have a passion for dance. There are not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance to get to perform at an elite level. It is about being a part of something bigger than themselves.”
All of that about their passion for the art may be true. But artists need to make a living, too! This absolutely reeks of something you see in Hollywood a lot — doing things for the exposure, for the experience. And it’s always an excuse for penny pinching studios to avoid paying people for their work.
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[Image via Netflix/YouTube]
