The high kicks are iconic. The paychecks never were. Now the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have a union to fight for them.
The Cowboys Said Yes
The Cowboys have agreed to recognize the newly formed Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association (DCCA) as the collective bargaining representative for the squad, the team and the union said in a joint release Friday, according to the Associated Press and Yahoo Sports. The Guardian reported that the recognition was voluntary and came after "meaningful discussion" between the two sides. Next comes collective bargaining.
"The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are an esteemed part of the Cowboys organization, deeply respected for the talent and dedication they exhibit," the statement said, per The Guardian and NBC News.
No timeline has been given for negotiations, and neither side has said what issues are on the table, WFAA reported. NBC News said the squad has 36 active members, but it isn't clear how many the union will officially represent.
Years of Pay Fights
This has been building for a long time. In 2018, cheerleader Erica Wilkins filed a federal fair wage lawsuit against the Cowboys. According to The Guardian, she claimed she averaged $15,000 during her seasons and made less than the team's male mascot. Forbes values the franchise at $17 billion, making it the NFL's most valuable team.
The money fight went mainstream on Season 2 of Netflix's "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders." The Guardian reported that the season followed often-tense contract talks, including threats of a walkout, and that several dancers held full-time jobs on top of their squad schedules just to pay their bills.
By the end of that season, the dancers had won a 400% raise, The Dallas Morning News reported. Former cheerleader Jada McLean told The New York Times she was making $15 an hour plus $500 per appearance in 2024, her final year. After the raise, she said, veterans could earn more than $75 an hour. McLean also told the Times that the new deal still didn't include health insurance.
Not the First, But the Biggest
Dallas isn't the first NFL squad to organize. In 1995, the Buffalo Bills' cheerleaders, the Buffalo Jills, won a National Labor Relations Board ruling allowing them to unionize, per the AP. That union didn't last. The Jills suspended operations in 2014 after former cheerleaders sued, claiming they were underpaid and mistreated, ESPN reported at the time.
NBC News called the DCCA believed to be the first union among pro sports cheerleading squads nationwide, outside that short-lived Buffalo effort.
The Cowboys cheerleaders have been around since 1961, The Guardian noted, and the Netflix series, now three seasons in, has made them more famous than ever. Now they get something they've never had: a seat at the bargaining table. Whether that turns into bigger checks or health coverage is the next fight.
Photo: Doug Wertman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
