Thanks to Netflix’s newest hit docuseries America’s Sweethearts, the iconic Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders are back in the spotlight. However, critics have fixated on one problem that how much do Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders make?
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed “America’s Sweethearts“) is the National Football League (NFL) cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team.
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Let’s find out…
How Much Do DCC Cheerleaders Make?
According to a 2022 report by NBC Boston in Time Magazine, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders earn $75,000 annually, between the games (40 hours) and practices ($15 -20 an hour)
(When TIME reached out to the Dallas Cowboys for comment or confirmation of these numbers, a representative declined.)
Their pay is somewhat better than the NFL average, reported by ESPN in 2017 to range from $75 to $150 per game for other cheerleaders. However, the average income of an NFL player is nearly $2 million (although some contracts are much higher than this).
Let that sink in: the lowest paid Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader salary is $832,500 a year and Dak Prescott has a $160M contract. The Dallas Cowboys organization is also the most valuable sports organization in the world at $10.1 billion, according to Forbes (with team owner Jerry Jones estimated net worth at $14.1 billion).
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Fact: The Actual Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Salary?
Kat Puryear
When an America’s Sweethearts producer asked 2022 cheerleader Kat Puryear, how much do Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders make?, she said,
I would say like … a substitute teacher. I would say I’m making … like a Chick-fil-A worker who works full time.
The DCC Pay Structure
In her TikTok video, Puryear elaborates that they get a flat fee for games in addition to hourly rate on game day for cheerleaders. She points out that those days can be 11 hours long, saying “it’s pretty nice.” The ex-cheerleader also says that practices are paid by the hour.
Puryear also talked about appearances at events as a similarly flat fee with an hourly rate. Although, the fee will differ based on how long a cheerleader has been with the team (limited to five years as a member of the squad).
@katpur ✨For those that are wondering ✨ #americassweetheart #dallascowboyscheerleaders #dcc ♬ original sound – Katpurr
“Fifth-years make a lot more money because of your tenure, your time,” Puryear notes in the video. She also notes that appearances in events are voluntary.
Tina Kalina
Back in the 1980s, former Cowboys cheerleader Tina Kalina said, she told a producer she made about $35 a game. Kalina also said on the series;
These millennials and Gen Xers, they do look at it as a job, where us old-timers look at it as more of a privilege.
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Dallas Cowboys’ Executives about the Cheerleaders’ Salaries
While a documentary pointed out the meager pay, Charlotte Jones, executive vice president of the Cowboys and chief brand officer, cited that financial riches are not what attracts cheerleaders.
She added;
There’s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders, as there should be. They’re not paid a lot. But the facts are that they actually don’t come here for the money. They come here for something that’s actually bigger than that to them.
Jones also said that;
They have a passion for dance. There are not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance, and to get to perform at an elite level. … It is about being a part of something bigger than themselves. It is about a sisterhood that they were able to form, about relationships that they have for the rest of their lives. They have a chance to feel like they’re valued, that they’re special and that they are making a difference. When the women come here, they find their passion and they find their purpose.
The 2024 Cheerleading Squad
The seven-episode series – Netflix’s No. 1 show – “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” chronicles the life cycle of the 2023-24 cheerleading squad from auditions to boot camp and through the NFL season.
One clip for instance features the team working a 21-day stretch to prepare for the NFL Christmas Day game. It ignites a long array of arguments and discussion on ‘how much do Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders make?’.
DCC’s Past Issues with Pay
A Dallas Cowboys’ spokesman declined to disclose cheerleader pay, saying that the organization does not make it public. But, he told The Dallas Morning News that the franchise does pay cheerleaders for games, practices and appearances. They cover the cost of uniforms, some meals, health club memberships and salon services.
However, an enormous number of women do work a second job. In the show, one of the current cheerleaders is Kelcey Wetterberg, a fifth-year cheerleader who is also a pediatric nurse. Rookie member Reece Allman gets a flower shop job during the show. They most commonly work as dance and aerobics instructors.
America’s Sweethearts director Greg Whiteley recently told Glamour magazine that he never got a clear answer but likely it differs based on years of seniority. Cowboys’ cheerleaders receives actually well compensation rather other NFL cheerleaders. However, Whiteley said to Glamour;
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.
She added;
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.
Cheerleader Sued NFL Over the Lack of Pay
Pay equity is hardly a new issue for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, but America’s Sweethearts is more of the latest of many. The few NFL cheerleaders started speaking out in the past decade, after Lacy Thibodeaux-Fields, a former Oakland Raiderette filed the first-class action lawsuit against the NFL in 2014. She claimed wage theft and gender discrimination.
The 2018 Wilkins’Lawsuit
In 2018, a former DC cheerleader Erica Wilkins filed a lawsuit against the club alleging she was paid below minimum wage as a cheerleader. Wilkins alleged in the suit that she was compensated less than the team’s mascot. She claimed that back then, cheerleaders paid for their own gym membership and were not allowed access to the NFL’s gym. As a member of the squad, they were also required to wash their own uniforms and keep up with “the DCC aesthetic look”.
(In a 2018 interview with the New York Post, Wilkins mentions that upkeep on her appearance required biweekly spray tans and monthly hair extensions and highlights, most of which she paid for herself.)
Wilkins’ lawsuit settled in 2019, raising the cheerleaders’ hourly wage from $8 to $12 and their game day rate from $200 to $400. Though symbolically, it demonstrated that the executives were aware how little they pay each cheerleader compared to what they earn from them.
The 2021 Huffington Post
An anonymous former cheerleader told the Huffington Post that unlike football players, they cannot use their titles to sign sponsorship deals or social media influencer agencies to help pay their bills. Puryea later provide confirmation in a comment. She mentions that they use images of the cheerleaders to sell swimsuit calendars in order to fund the cheerleading program. She claims that the cheerleaders do not profit off the use of their likenesses.
However, the Huffington Post has learned from an anonymous former Cowboys cheerleader in 2021 that she earned $12.50 per hour. She says that cheerleaders also cannot use their popularity to get earnings through any sponsorship. Which is why most of them have to work a full-time job in addition to their full-time practice.
She said that;
“It’s kind of a running joke for the girls on the team: The guys on the practice squad, who don’t even touch the field half of the time, getting 80 grand more than we do a year. And I’m at every single game, dancing my ass off, and every other appearance, and my face is all over The Star. You don’t even know who these guys on the practice team are. It’s unfortunate that with how much they pretend or say that we are important and the face of the organization, the way they treat us and pay us does not come near to equal that.”
The Guardian reported that NFL served 10 of its 26 teams with employment-related lawsuits for compensation, wage theft, hostile work environments and harassment by the year 2020.
The DCC Charm in Sixties
The game at the Cotton Bowl that night was between the and the Atlanta Falcons. This was early in their 1967 season, and surprisingly, it would be one of just two wins they earned all year long. The short-skirted and a well-endowed stripper Bubbles Cash, antagonized the audience as she walked down the stairs. Cheers were all around the Fulton County Stadium like thunder. She was floating down the staircase on the 50-yard line holding cotton candy in both hands.
Her face quickly appeared on the front pages of newspapers in Dallas, where she made a poster child by Cowboys General Manager ‘Tex Schramm’. He realized the Cowboys needed to sell tickets, being aware of how a cheerleading squad could affect a crowd. Schramm persuaded an already-skeptical panel to vote yes on his idea.
As the 1970 season neared, Schramm made the move to alter their image as needed to enhance the club’s appeal. Originally, the biggest difference was that the cheerleading routines would primarily be dance-based alongside. The all-female squad had a uniform change rather acrobatic or high school/college like uniforms. There were ten local high school cheerleaders that they chose to work with Dee Brock and a choreographer. They were implementing the new dance style routines as well as overseeing complete redesign of uniforms for the 1970 season.
The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders remain present till now and perform in all shows, game events and public appearances every year.
DCC Media Appearances and Performances Over the Years
Over the years, NFL has participated in numerous media and performances.
Let’s look at some of them..!
Well, recently the DCC puts out a few calendars annually. More recently, in addition to their annual swimsuit calendar, they also release an annual “sideline calendar,” which features photos of NFL cheerleaders rather than beach babes. Photos involve the DCC cheering and performing at Cowboys home games.
The DCC have served as Warriors of Women’s Empowerment in the metroplex for years beyond count! The DCC were featured in the documentary “Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders” aired on television in November 2018. This miniseries tells the tale of Suzanne Mitchell – who took on the role as director from 1972-1989.
DCC welcomed the FIFA delegation to their country for the promotion of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The magazine Texas Monthly released a podcast in December 2021 called “America’s Girls“ (8 episodes), where the host interviewed former cheerleaders of the DCC as well as those with close associations to cheerleaders.
CMT announce the cancellation of the series in April 2022, and it is shop out to other outlets.
In 2024, the squad was featured on the Netflix documentary series titled “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”
Take Away
Now, that’s a big bummer, so let’s hope the strong potential of “America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders” highlights this topic and gives those Cowboys the heat they need to PAY UP!
Professional pay equity has been an important piece of the conversation among female athletes in recent years and across a variety of leagues. Luckily, word has risen, and compensations has begun regarding the optimized wages for these hardworking ladies across the sports.
FAQs
According to the rules, you can be a DCC for five years. However, you must try each time, it’s all up for grabs.
No, most of them do part-time or full-time job and even attend college. For this, a cheerleader Puryear said;
“It’s like a full-time… full-time commitment, part-time pay,” She added, “It’s a good part-time job, but we do a lot of work.”
There are No Specific Requirements for the height and weight of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, unless they are well-proportionate in dancewear.
The estimated pay range for a DCC Cheer Coach is $37k – $68k per year. It includes both, the base Dallas cowboy coach salary and the additional pay.
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