The Cowboys have been criticized over the years for how little the team has paid its cheerleaders.
DALLAS — The latest season of “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders” is out on Netflix, chronicling a season with the most famous cheer squad in the world.
And despite the football team’s disappointing 2024 season, the year ended on a high note for the cheerleaders: They’re getting a big pay raise.
In fact, they’re getting a 400% bump in salary, according to the team leaders who pushed for the change.
“You guys have moved some mountains this year that will forever change our organization and hopefully dancers’ organizations across the world,” the squad’s director, Kelli Finglass, told the cheerleaders at their end-of-season banquet, as documented in Episode 7 of Season 2. “It’s just amazing because that has been 60-plus years long overdue.”
The Cowboys have been criticized over the years for how little the team has paid its cheerleaders, who are part and parcel to the Cowboys’ brand as the most valuable sports franchise in the world. NBC Sports Boston reported in 2022 that the Cowboys cheerleaders were making around $15-$20 per hour, or $22,500 on average annually, while the club’s overall value is estimated to be around $9 billion.
Most of the cheerleaders have full-time or part-time jobs in addition to their role with the Cowboys. Charlotte Jones, the Cowboys’ chief brand officer and the daughter of Jerry Jones, has defended the cheerleaders’ salary, pointing out the limited opportunities to dance professionally, especially for an NFL team.
“It is about being part of something bigger than themselves,” Charlotte Jones told Netflix during Season 1, when the pay issue came back into focus.
Toward the end of Season 2, Megan, a fourth-year veteran cheerleader, explained to Netflix how the raise finally happened. She said she heard the other group leaders on the team heard from Finglass, who wanted to reconvene on the discussion about the cheerleaders’ pay. That’s when club officials announced a 400% raise. While the exact pay amount wasn’t disclosed, a 400% raise from previous estimates would put the cheerleaders’ new pay around the $100,000 mark.
Cheerleader Jada McClean told the New York Times will now make more than $75 an hour.
“Happy isn’t even the right word for it,” McClean told Netflix. “I just felt relief and it was finally, we were done fighting.”
Armani, a cheerleader in her fifth and final season with the team, said she was proud the pay raise will be part of her legacy, even after she’s gone from the team.
“I love the fact that I made a change for the girls that are coming up behind me,” she said, “even if I’m not getting to benefit.”