Netflix’s new docuseries America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has been taking over the internet—and for good reason. These ladies work hard, both to make the team and compete throughout the season. But series also highlighted how much the cheerleaders are paid, and fans aren’t happy.
“Please say sike,” one TikToker captioned her video on DCC salaries, which currently has over 25,000 likes.
“It’s an elite level but not paid like an elite,” one fan added. “The football players have a ‘love and passion’ for the game, and there also isn’t a lot of ‘opportunity at an elite level’ in football… yet how much do they get paid?!” another wrote.
While watching the series, you may notice that many of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders hold second jobs. First group leader Kelcey Wetterberg is a pediatric registered nurse, while rookie Reece Allman gets a gig in a flower shop. And that’s because, despite all of their hard work, NFL cheerleaders don’t actually make that much money.
“I would say I’m making, like, a substitute teacher [salary],” DCC alumna Kat Puryear says in a confessional. “I would say I’m making, like, Chick-fil-A worker that works full-time.”
Throughout the series, fans see the ladies of the DCC practice for hours per day on top of their other jobs—and working plenty of nights. During December 2023, the squad worked for 21 days in a row thanks to extra Christmas shows, DCC director Kelli Finglass shared.
Of course, the series dives into everything that comes with being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, from the highs—like representing the team during charity events and performing with celebs like Dolly Parton—to the lows—like dealing pressure and even sometimes sexual harassment or assault.
But how much are the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders paid? Here’s everything to know about their salaries.
How much money do the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders make?
NFL cheerleaders typically make around $150 per game, ESPN reported in 2017, making their yearly salaries about $22,500 per year, on average. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which adds up to a yearly salary of $15,080.
In comparison, NFL water boys usually make $53,000 per year and NFL mascots make $25,000 per season, NBC Sports Boston wrote in 2022.
There are ways to earn more: Cheerleaders also receive anywhere from $50 to $75 for public appearances, according to the outlet.
The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are actually one of the highest-paid squads. They earn about $15-20 per hour, or $500 per game. This makes their yearly salary about $75,000, per NBC Sports Boston.
Since the show came out, America’s Sweethearts director Greg Whiteley has said that he “never” got a clear answer on how much a DCC made. “I think that’s because it varies depending on how senior you are in the group,” he told Glamour. “You may even get paid more if you’re a group leader, though that was never clear to me.”
He did confirm that the DCC are paid more than other NFL cheerleaders. “As far as NFL cheerleaders go, I can say this with a high degree of confidence: the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are on the highest end of that pay scale,” he said. “I’ve heard horror stories of what a typical NFL cheerleader makes, but the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders fall into a new category. None of them are rich. None of them are getting paid a ton, but it isn’t the same dearth of payment that I think other NFL cheerleaders have to experience.”
How much money does Kelli Finglass make?
So if the DCC makes about $75,000 per year, how much does their leader, director Kelli Finglass, make in comparison?
While there isn’t a lot out there about her exact salary, she has a net worth of $1.5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
The salaries of NFL cheerleaders have always been low.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a new issue. Some NFL cheerleaders made as little as $5 per hour in 2014, according to PBS. In America’s Sweethearts, archival footage shows that the DCC once made as little as $15 per game.
“I think my game-day fee was $35, and we basically donated that back,” Tina Kalina, who cheered for the DCC in 1989, said in America’s Sweethearts. “These millennials, X-Gen—whatever they’re called—they do look at it as a job, where as us old-timers look at it as more of a privilege.”
These low salaries are because NFL cheerleaders are independent contractors, not salaried workers, meaning teams are not necessarily required to pay the cheerleaders salaries in line with state or federal minimum wages, according to NBC Sports Boston.
Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys chief brand officer and daughter of the team’s owner Jerry Jones, told Netflix cameras that the cheerleaders “don’t come here for the money.”
“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,” she said. “It is about being part of something bigger than themselves.”
Cheerleaders have sued the NFL for low wages.
Many NFL cheerleaders have turned to the legal system to fight for better salaries. In 2014, former Oakland Raiders cheerleader Lacy Thibodeaux-Fields filed the first class-action lawsuit against the NFL regarding cheerleaders’ compensation, alleging wage theft and gender discrimination, per The Guardian.
More lawsuits followed, including one from a Buffalo Bills cheerleader who claimed she received just $105 for an entire season after paying more than $600 for her uniform. By the fall of 2020, 10 of the NFL’s 32 teams had been sued for wage theft, harassment, unsafe working conditions or discrimination, the outlet writes.
Richard Dalrymple, former public relations head of the Dallas Cowboys, was accused of secretly filming cheerleaders in their dressing room in 2015. A fan also accused Dalrymple of taking lewd photos of Charlotte Jones, per Bleacher Report.
The team settled the case for $2.4 million in 2022, with around $400,000 going to each of the four accusing cheerleaders, according to NBC News. Dalrymple retired in February 2022.
Many of those lawsuits have been settled privately, per The Guardian. In the years since, many NFL cheerleading squads have made changes, including switching up their uniforms, adding men to their rosters, or even getting rid of the teams altogether.
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