Cowboys Lift Cheerleaders’ Pay 400% After Netflix Spotlight

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Updated Jul 2, 2025, 06:04 PM

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders will receive an approximately 400% wage increase for the 2025 NFL season, according to details disclosed in the newly released season of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Sweethearts.” Veteran performers said hourly rehearsal pay will rise to about $75, and appearance fees will climb in tandem, marking the squad’s largest compensation jump in its 64-year history.

The raise follows years of criticism that dancers for one of the world’s most valuable sports franchises earned less than many stadium support workers. A cheerleader interviewed by the New York Times said she was paid $15 an hour and $500 per public appearance during the 2024 season. The organization’s last significant adjustment came in 2019, when a lawsuit brought by former member Erica Wilkins prompted the team to double game-day pay to $400.

Pressure intensified after the first season of the Netflix series made the pay gap more visible and social-media backlash grew. Negotiations were led by veteran squad members during the 2024 campaign and concluded before the current season’s contracts were signed. Team management confirmed the outcome but did not release a detailed pay scale.

While the new wages remain a fraction of the multimillion-dollar salaries earned by Cowboys players, the move positions the cheerleaders closer to prevailing market rates for professional dancers and could influence negotiations at other NFL franchises. Forbes last year valued the Cowboys at more than $10 billion, reinforcing questions about equitable revenue sharing within the league’s game-day workforce.

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