The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have secured a significant pay increase following years of earning surprisingly low wages, despite the team's valuation of $10 billion (£7.45 billion). The cheerleaders, who are featured in Netflix's popular docuseries America's Sweethearts, previously earned only $15 to $20 per hour for practice and $500 per game. Many were forced to take second jobs to make ends meet, while rookie NFL players earned at least $750,000 annually.
Pay Dispute Central to Show's Second Season
The pay dispute became a key storyline in the second season of the show, with cheerleaders holding meetings and even considering walkouts during games. Jada McLean, who helped negotiate the new deal, told TIME magazine: "We didn't want to let people down who were so excited to see the cheerleaders after supporting us through the first season of our television show."
New Salary Details
Veteran cheerleaders can now earn around $150,000 annually following what has been described as a "life-changing" 400% salary increase. However, some dispute this figure, with one cheerleader claiming the increase was "more like 300%." Veteran Reece Weaver said: "It has been such an improvement and a very big increase over what we have seen in the past." Despite the raise, the job remains part-time and does not include health insurance benefits.
