Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders get a 400% pay increase

The cheerleaders disclosed in the latest episode of America’s Sweetheartsa Netflix docuseries about the squad, that they would receive a 400% raise starting this year.

The Cowboys cheerleaders did not disclose hard numbers about the salary increase. Nor did they discuss what they were making previously.

It’s the end of a long fight, though. In 2018, former cheerleader Erica Wilkins sued the team for unfair pay, saying she received $7 per hour and a flat fee of $200 per game. That case was settled out of court the following year and hourly wages had not gone up considerably in the years in between.

One former cheerleader told The New York Times she made $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance in 2024. Cheerleaders with more experience earn higher amounts. That brings salary levels to $60 and higher per hour.

The Netflix series, which gave the squad a new burst of popularity, focused somewhat on the financial struggle of members in its first season, showing the need of many to hold full-time jobs in addition to their duties to the team. (That includes several hours of rehearsals each week, attending 10 home games each season, halftime performances, and special appearances.)

They do not receive health insurance through the team, but do have access to a team doctor and physical therapist.

“We got our contracts and probably wrongly assumed that it maybe would have been different, just because of everything that was on TV,” cheerleader Kylie Dickson says on the show. “The world was kind of telling us, ‘Girls, fight for more.’”