It’s a good time to be a Cowboys cheerleader! The ladies are back for a new season of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix, and at the end of Season 2, they excitedly revealed they received a 400% pay increase.
Pay raises are scarce in any industry, but 400%? That figure has us ready to try out for the team, too. It also begs the question of how much the cheerleaders were paid in the first place. Find out just how much that big raise translates to dollar bills.
What is the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders salary in 2025?
On America’s Sweethearts, cameras roll as the cheerleaders go through an intense boot camp in hopes of making the 36-person team. There are veterans and rookies fighting for a coveted spot on the team. The one thing they all have in common is that cheerleading doesn’t pay the bills.
Throughout both seasons, the ladies mentioned working second and third jobs, struggling to make their dreams of NFL cheerleading a reality. That’s why when the 400% pay raise was announced, one of the Sweethearts called it “life-changing.”
According to a report from TIME, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders used to make a measly $8 an hour plus $200 per match. A cheerleader named Erica Wilkins sued. In 2019, her efforts got the pay bumped up to $12 an hour with $400 per match.
A report from 2022 indicated that the ladies received another pay raise, bringing their totals anywhere from $15 to $20 an hour. Their per-match rate went up to $500, and the average cheerleader made around $75,000 each year.
If the 400% pay raise described in Season 2 is accurate, that would mean the cheerleaders are now earning upwards of $375,000 annually. That’s money worth flipping for, but it’s worth noting the Cowboys organization has not confirmed this figure. The ladies on America’s Sweethearts didn’t dive into the specifics on Netflix.
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is streaming on Netflix.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THE PAY DISPARITY EXPERIENCED BY THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS? DID YOU ENJOY SEASON 2 OF THE NETFLIX SERIES?
