The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400 Percent Pay Raise
In what amounts to the biggest reveal of the second season of the Netflix docuseries 'America's Sweethearts,' the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will receive a pay raise of roughly 400 percent for the 2025 season.
It is a huge increase in a profession known for its low wages, and one that a former cheerleader for the team, Jada McLean, described in an interview with The New York Times as 'a drastic change' that could give the cheerleaders more financial security.
The pay bump is announced in Episode 7 of the show's second season, which began streaming on Wednesday. It caps a yearslong effort for higher pay that drew a great deal of attention in 2018 when the former cheerleader Erica Wilkins sued the team for unfair pay. She claimed in her lawsuit that she received roughly $7 per hour with no overtime pay and a flat rate of $200 per game, which, in total, ended up being less than the annual pay for the team's mascot, Rowdy. Her case was settled out of court in 2019 and, since then, hourly wages for the squad remained low.
Missing from the announcement of the raise in the show were any specifics of what the cheerleaders were making previously, or how much they would be paid under their new deal.
But in a rare instance of a Cowboys cheerleader, past or present, discussing her compensation, Ms. McLean told The Times that in 2024, her fifth year with the squad, she had made $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance, and that compensation varies based on experience. With the increased wages, she said veteran cheerleaders could now be making more than $75 an hour. The new contract also changes the structure around pay for game day and other appearances, though Ms. McLean said it still does not provide health insurance.
In an emailed statement, the franchise would not confirm the new wages or if the new rates apply to rookies on the team as well.
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