The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will be receiving roughly a 400% raise for the 2025-2026 NFL football season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Season 2 of America's Sweethearts showed that the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad, after years of fighting and negotiating for better pay, will finally receive a hefty pay raise.
The pay increase was announced during Episode 7 of America's Sweethearts' second season, which was released for streaming June 18 on Netflix.
"Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise," four-year veteran Megan McElaney said on the show.
"And we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is, like, life-changing. I'm going to cry! Dancers are athletes. They have value, and that's all I could ever want -- so I'm excited to come back."
Former Dallas cheerleader Jada McLean also shared on the series how "happy" wasn't the right word to explain her elation.
"[We were] thanked... for being very honest and open. I kind of felt, like, a relief, like everything had paid off. And it was, you know, finally, we were done fighting," Jada gushed to the cameras.
Fellow retired team member Armani Latimer added, "We pushed and we got back good results."
"I get emotional knowing that I was a part of that," Armani continued. "I love the fact that I made change for the girls that are coming up behind me, even if I'm not getting a chance to benefit."
The show did not specify, however, how much the cheerleaders were previously paid and how much they'll be making under the new deal for the next football season.
Jada confirmed to The New York Times that the pay increase will be "a drastic change" allowing the cheerleaders, who had been known for receiving low wages, more financial security.
Unfair pay for cheerleaders became a topic of discussion in 2018 when former Dallas cheerleader Erica Wilkins had sued the team for her low wages.
Being a part of the team apparently requires hours of rehearsals per week, 10 home games per season, halftime performances, and special appearances.
FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!
Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!
Erica had claimed in her lawsuit that she earned 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, according to The Times. (Erica's case was settled out of court in 2019).
Jada told The Times that in 2024, which marked her fifth year with the squad, she had earned $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance.
Now that wages have been increased, veteran cheerleaders could make around $75 an hour next season.
The first season of America's Sweethearts, which streamed last summer, showed the financial struggles of many of the Dallas cheerleaders.
According to Jada, the cheerleaders had been considered part-time employees and so they were not given health insurance, despite having access to a team doctor and a physical therapist.
The docu-reality series revealed that many of the professional cheerleaders had to work full-time jobs in addition to their cheerleading duties. Jade, for instance, held down a job at a dermatology clinic while she danced.
Footage of the cheerleaders' efforts for a pay increase continued throughout the show's second season, which documented the 2024-2025 NFL football season.
The cheerleading squad's director, Kelli Finglass, reportedly expressed support for the women to negotiate for better pay and called the new pay deal "60-plus years long overdue."
ADVERTISEMENT
Prior to America's Sweethearts, CMT had aired Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team from September 2006 through November 2021.
The series had followed the auditioning process and the forming of the Dallas Cowboys' annual cheerleading squad.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.