A bit of breaking NFL news this week came not from ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, but from Netflix, when Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Megan McElaney revealed that the league’s most famous cheerleading troop will start receiving a lot more money in 2025.
On a recent episode of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, McElaney informed viewers that the Cowboys cheerleaders’ pay will increase by 400% this year.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders perform during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles on November 10, 2024, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Our efforts were heard, and they wanted to give us a raise,” McElaney said. “And we ended up getting a 400 percent increase, which is like, life-changing.”
“‘Happy’ isn’t even the right word for it,” former cheerleader Jada McLean added. “I think I was just… kind of felt, like, a relief—like everything had paid off. And it was, you know, finally, we were done fighting.”
Fellow cheerleader Armani Latimer added, “We pushed, and we got back good results.”
ABC News confirmed the news with the Cowboys, who said, “We’re pleased, as you’ll see in the series, that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were happy with the outcome.”
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders perform before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium on January 05, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
According to the New York Times, hourly compensation for a Cowboys cheerleader in 2024 is “$15 an hour and $500 for each appearance.” However, with the pay increase, “veteran cheerleaders could now be making more than $75 an hour.”
While the pay is definitely headed in the right direction for the cheerleaders, they still don’t receive the health insurance access from the team because they are considered part-time employees. However, given that nearly all cheerleaders have other jobs away from football, most of them have health insurance provided by their other occupations.