Season 2 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders featured a number of the veteran squad members pushing again on their contracts for the 2024 season. Armani Latimer, Jada Mclean, Megan McElaney, and Amanda Howard had been among the many dancers who made it clear to their coaches and the higher-ups that they felt they deserved to earn more money, even threatening to not signal their contracts if their calls for weren’t met.
After the present’s first season premiered in 2024, viewers had been appalled to find out how little the ladies made for a way a lot work they do for this system. A number of retailers have reported that the ladies make between $15 and $20 per hour, including as much as $500 per sport. This made the yearly wage round $75,000.
In a 2024 TikTok video, former squad member Katherine Puryear defined how pay is structured. Whereas she didn’t share precise numbers, she mentioned there’s a flat price for video games, together with an hourly wage for sport days, which may typically be as much as 11 hours lengthy. The staff members additionally get a flat price, plus an hourly fee, for attending native occasions, with the quantities right here growing with annually a member is on the squad (as much as 5 years).
A lot of the staff members think about the DCC to be their part-time job, and nearly all of them work full-time through the day earlier than heading to rehearsals at evening, video games on the weekends, and different required occasions.
The pushback from the veteran squad members ended up paying off. Through the Season 2 finale, the ladies came upon that the elevate they had been asking for had come by means of. “Our efforts had been heard and so they needed to offer us a elevate,” Megan shared. “We ended up getting a 400% enhance, which is, like, life-changing.”
A 400% enhance places the yearly wage at roughly $375,000. In fact, as was identified within the present, there are different advantages that include being on the squad. Providers together with hair, make-up, spray tans, manicures, and extra are sponsored by native distributors in alternate for the ladies posting on their social media in regards to the firms. However whereas this was a manner to save cash in some points, it didn’t “pay the payments,” based on the staff members.
Courtesy of Netflix
After the pay enhance, Megan determined to return for an additional season, however Jada, Armani, and Amanda had already made up their minds that they wouldn’t be coming again. “I really like the truth that I made change for the ladies which are arising behind me, even when I’m not getting an opportunity to learn,” Jada confirmed.
In the case of the staff’s salaries, the precise numbers should not confirmed. Greg Whiteley, director of the docuseries, informed Glamour in 2024, “I by no means received a clear reply [about salaries]. I feel that’s as a result of it varies relying on how senior you might be within the group. It’s possible you’ll even receives a commission extra in case you’re a gaggle chief, although that was by no means clear to me.”
He identified that “dancers the world over are underpaid,” and famous that the DCC are “on the upper finish of the pay scale, in case you had been totaling it on a per-hour foundation.” He famous that not one of the ladies on the staff are “wealthy” or “getting paid a ton,” however added, “It isn’t the identical dearth of cost that I feel different NFL cheerleaders need to expertise.”
Certainly, NBC Sports activities Boston reported in 2022 that the common NFL cheerleader solely earns $150 per sport, including as much as about $22,500 yearly.
Charlotte Jones, the chief model officer for the Dallas Cowboys, admitted that NFL cheerleaders aren’t paid quite a bit, however added, “They’ve a ardour for dance. There should not a number of alternatives within the area of dance to get to carry out at an elite stage. It’s about being part of one thing greater than themselves.”
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Season 2, Streaming, Netflix