From Pom-Poms to Plaintiff: The Cheerleader Wage Gap

Beneath the glitter of game-day performances and team spirit lies a longstanding pattern of underpayment and exploitation of the women on the sidelines: the cheerleaders and dancers. While professional athletes in the National Football League (“NFL”) and the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) command multimillion-dollar contracts, the women who bring energy, branding value, and entertainment to these games often earn less than minimum wage.¹[1]ABC News, NBA Cheerleader Files Lawsuit Against Basketball Team for Alleged Low Pay, ABC NEWS (Oct. 27, 2015), https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nba-cheerleader-files-lawsuit-basketball-team-alleged-low/story?id=34760373. This article will share what a recent documentary on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (“DCC”) exposed about the compensation of sideline performers,  analyze those performers’ lawsuits alleging wage and labor violations, and discuss potential reforms aimed at ensuring fair compensation for professional cheerleaders and dancers.

Cheerleader Documentary Exposes Wage Gap

In June 2024, Netflix released the television series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and with it came widespread reactions from the public.²[2]Cady Lang, America’s Sweethearts Lays Bare the Low Wages and High Costs of Being an NFL Cheerleader, TIME (July 3, 2024), https://time.com/6994498/dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-salary-americas-sweethearts-netflix/. One of the series’ most controversial revelations was the shockingly low salary that a cheerleader earned per season.³[3]Id. Kat Puryear, a 2022 DCC veteran, compared her salary to that of a “Chick-fil-A worker who works full time.”⁴[4]Elizabeth Logan & Sam Reed, How Much Do Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Make?, GLAMOUR (June 20, 2024), https://www.glamour.com/story/how-much-do-dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-make. It has been estimated that a DCC cheerleader “makes about $500 per game and $15- 20 per hour for practices, which comes out to roughly $75,000 per year.”⁵[5]Id.; Jason Whitely & Mark Smith, Cowboys Settle Cheerleader Pay Dispute, Entire Squad Gets Pay Boost, WFAA-TV ABC (Sept. 9, 2019, 10:06 AM), https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/nfl/cowboys/287-7dc7f6a3-8d36-44bf-8a5c-466cff75c3de. The director and executive producer of the documentary explained that “salary may also vary depending on position within the squad.”⁶[6]Logan & Reed, supra. He further said that the DCC “are the highest end of that [NFL cheer] pay scale” and that he has heard “horror stories of what a typical NFL cheerleader [makes].”⁷[7]Id. While we do not know the exact pay each NFL team pays its cheerleaders, “on average, the cheerleaders earn about $150 per game [which] comes out to about $22,500 per year.”⁸[8]Kristen Conti, Do NFL Cheerleaders Get Paid? Here’s How Much the Average Salary Is, NBC SPORTS (Sept. 11, 2022, 10:13 AM), https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nfl/new-england-patriots/do-nfl-cheerleaders-get-paid-heres-how-much-the-average-salary-is/265895/.

It was so appalling for viewers not only because of the extremely low wages but also the grueling hours and demands that come with being a part of the squad.⁹[9]Lang, supra. The documentary explained that “they practice at least 20 hours weekly, in addition to working game days and other appearances during the 18-week NFL regular season, plus training camp and additional programming in the off-season and the possibility of playoffs.”¹⁰[10]Id. However, like many sports teams, there is typically much more that goes into performing your best on game day than suggested by the number of practices. For example, aside from at-home practicing and workout regimens, it is essential for cheerleaders to maintain a certain image, “and treatments to achieve that image – perfectly straight, white teeth, and bouncy hair, for example – come out of some of the dancers’ own pockets.”¹¹[11]Logan & Reed, supra. This explains why many cheerleaders have complained that cheering on these teams feels like a full-time job.¹²[12]Id. Instead of addressing these concerns in a practical or tangible way, Charlotte Jones, Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and daughter of Jerry Jones, suggested that “the cheerleaders are not motivated by money, but instead opportunity and a ‘passion for dance.’”¹³[13]Lang, supra.

NFL Cheerleaders and NBA Dancers Go on the Litigation Offensive

While the documentary shed light on the DCC specifically, a wave of lawsuits filed by NFL and NBA cheerleaders in recent years has revealed a broader, systemic issue of wage theft and labor law violations.¹⁴[14]Katie Thornton, NFL Cheerleaders Have Spent Years Fighting for Justice. Why Don’t We Take Them Seriously?, THE GUARDIAN (Feb. 10, 2023, 2:00 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/feb/09/nfl-cheerleaders-super-bowl-justice. One of the most publicized cases was Lacy T. v. Oakland Raiders, a case where former cheerleader Lacy Thibodeaux-Fields brought the first class-action lawsuit against the NFL, claiming that cheerleaders were underpaid and alleged gender discrimination.¹⁵[15]Complaint at 1, Lacy T v. Oakland Raiders, No. RG14710815, 2014 WL 231121 (Cal. super. Filed Jan. 22, 2014). Specifically, the cheerleaders “alleged 11 claims for violations of the Labor and Business and Professions Codes, including failure to pay minimum wage, failure to pay overtime compensation, failure to reimburse for business expenses and failure to provide meal and rest breaks.”¹⁶[16]Lacy T. v. Oakland Raiders, No. A144707, 2016 WL 7217584, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2016). The parties settled and “the Raiders agreed to pay $1.25 million” with $792,000 allocated directly to the plaintiffs.¹⁷[17]Id. at *2.

More lawsuits followed Lacy T., including one in 2014 from Maria Pinzone, a former Buffalo Bills cheerleader, who claimed “the Bills made more than $250 million as an organization that year, [while] Pinzone had to pay $650 for her uniform, and was paid just $105 for 840 hours of work.”¹⁸[18]Adrian Horton, ‘A Culture of Fear’: Inside a Shocking Film on How Cheerleaders are Treated, THE GUARDIAN (Jan. 26, 2021, 3:02 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/26/a-womans-work-documentary-nfl-cheerleaders. Pinzone and 73 other squad members, sued the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Jills (the cheer team), and the NFL for “failing to pay them lawful wages for all hours worked, unlawful deductions from wages, failure to reimburse business expenses, and violations of New York State labor laws governing minimum wage, overtime, and unlawful employment practices.”¹⁹[19]Third Amended & Supplemental Class Action Complaint at 3, Ferrari v. Buffalo Bills, Inc., No. 804125/2014 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Erie Cnty. Nov. 23, 2015). The parties settled when the Bills agreed to pay $3.5 million to the cheerleaders.²⁰[20]Stipulation, Agreement, and Order Resolving Claim Disputes and Establishing Claim Amounts at 7, In Re CM Wind Down Topco, Inc., No. 17-13381 (SCC) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y [June 7, 2022]). In 2018, former DCC Erica Wilkins brought a federal lawsuit against the team, claiming she was underpaid for her work and earned less than the male team mascot.²¹[21]Plaintiff’s Original Complaint for Damages at 2, 9-10, Wilkins v. Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd., No. 3:18-cv-1511 (N.D. Tex. June 12, 2018). She settled in late 2019, resulting in an increased hourly wage “from $8 to $12 and the game day rate from $200 to $400.”²²[22]Lang, supra.

In defending these lawsuits, some teams argued that the cheerleaders were seasonal workers, hired through third-party contractors, and therefore exempt from certain labor protections.²³[23]Chabeli Carrazana, NFL Cheerleaders Have Been Fighting for Better Pay for 10 Years. They’re Still Being Sidelined, THE CURRENT (Sept. 7, 2024), https://thecurrentga.org/2024/09/07/nfl-cheerleaders-have-been-fighting-for-better-pay-for-10-years-theyre-still-being-sidelined/?utm. In many states, classifying cheerleaders this way allows the team to treat them as independent contractors, rather than employees, who are not protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements.²⁴[24]Id. The independent contractor classification has become a central issue in these disputes, prompting cheerleaders to challenge that status and demand fair compensation.²⁵[25]Id.

While many cheerleader lawsuits have quickly settled and been kept confidential, a November 2022 complaint filed by the D.C. Attorney General stands out for its public allegations against the Washington Commanders, former team owner Dan Snyder, the NFL, and Commissioner Roger Goodell.²⁶[26]Complaint at 1, D.C. v. Pro-Football, Inc., d/b/a Washington Commanders, No. 2022-CAB-00517 (Super. Ct. D.C. Nov. 10, 2022). The complaint alleges that Snyder directed team executives to have employees and contractors edit videos using footage from the cheerleaders’ calendar shoots, including footage the cheerleaders had specifically requested not be filmed.²⁷[27]Id. at *16. Snyder “mandated that these videos include the ‘good bits,’ which producers understood to mean unedited images of cheerleaders’ exposed breasts and pubic areas.”²⁸[28]Id.

Although there have been far more lawsuits against the NFL, NBA dancers have brought similar mistreatment and wage-related complaints.²⁹[29]Tess Barker, ‘Dancers Live in a World of Fear’: Why Cheerleaders are Taking on the NFL and NBA, THE GUARDIAN (May 18, 2018, 4:00 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/may/18/nfl-nba-cheerleaders-lawsuits-sports. In 2015, Lauren Herington was the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the Milwaukee Bucks, alleging a “nightmarish experience.”³⁰[30]Id. Herington alleged that the team violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Wisconsin Minimum Wage Law, and the Wisconsin Wage Payment, Claims and Collections.³¹[31]Complaint at 9-12, Herington v. Milwaukee Bucks, LLC, No. 15-CV-1152 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 24, 2015). She sought to recover “a) unpaid minimum wages for work they performed, but were not paid minimum wage; b) unpaid overtime wages for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week; c) liquidated damages; d) increased wages; e) injunctive relief; and f) attorneys’ costs.”³²[32]Id. Herington claimed that “dancing for the Bucks was more like a full-time job with part time pay” and alleged that she ended up making between $3 to $5 per hour for the time she worked, a price “well below Wisconsin’s minimum wage at the time.”³³[33]Maria Schiavocampo, Former Cheerleader Files Lawsuit Against Bucks for Unfair Pay, ABC NEWS (Oct. 27, 2015), https://abc7news.com/former-cheerleader-files-lawsuit-against-milwaukee-bucks-for-unfair-pay-of-wage-buzzworthy/1054549/. As detailed in emails with her then-coach and trainer, Herington also alleged “extreme diets, countless hours of mandatory exercise that left her with stress fractures, and anti-fraternization policies that included a ban on making eye contact with players.”³⁴[34]Barker, supra. The parties settled the case in 2017, but Herington was left feeling as though the Bucks “thought it was a joke” and were not going to make any amendments to their policies.³⁵[35]Id.

The Catalyst for Change

An interesting aspect of many of these NFL and NBA suits is that, according to Sara Blackwell, a lawyer who has represented multiple cheerleaders in related cases, NBA and NFL cheerleaders “are often required to sign arbitration agreements, which force employees claiming damages into highly confidential settlement talks.”³⁶[36]Id. Upon settlement, the cheerleaders typically have to sign gag orders.³⁷[37]Id. This lack of visibility and clarity on the real experiences of NBA and NFL cheerleaders, including their lack of wage equity and other mistreatment, has made it difficult to bring about necessary change.

The success of the Netflix show brought the issue of low wages into the public eye, prompting many viewers to question why cheerleaders for one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world were earning so little. Season Two, which aired June 18, 2025, came out with a bang, announcing that the DCC would “receive a pay raise of roughly 400% for the 2025 season.”³⁸[38]Alisha Haridasani Gupta & Katie Van Syckle, The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400 Percent Pay Raise, THE NEW YORK TIMES (June 18, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/style/dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-salary-americas-sweethearts.html. Throughout the second season, the girls openly discuss their financial struggles and growing frustration with the pay disparity.³⁹[39]Olivia Waxman, How the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Got a 400% Pay Raise, TIME (June 18, 2025), https://time.com/7295238/dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-pay-raise/. Several cheerleaders revealed that they work multiple jobs just to stay afloat, one noting, “At the end of the day, that doesn’t pay my rent.”⁴⁰[40]Id. The show documented how veteran members like Jada McLean helped lead internal discussions with the Cowboys’ HR and legal teams after nearly being evicted, emphasizing that “the series’ existence played a big role” in pushing the negotiations forward.⁴¹[41]Id. By midseason, the women’s collective determination became a defining storyline.⁴²[42]Id. At one point, McLean told her teammates, “For us to all be struggling financially, I’m kind of over it,” while another cheerleader added, “I would love to leave this place between than it was when we started.”⁴³[43]Id. Their advocacy was ultimately successful, culminating in the show’s final episode when the team celebrates the long-fought, “life-changing” raise.⁴⁴[44]Id. As McLean later reflected, public support and visibility from the Netflix series gave the cheerleaders the leverage they needed: “Having people watch the television show and speak up honestly on behalf of us…motivated us to speak up more for ourselves.”⁴⁵[45]Id.

While this pay increase marks a major step forward, it also underscores how long cheerleaders have been fighting for systematic change. In the years following the 2014 lawsuits, former NBA dancer Lisa Murray began leading efforts to unionize professional cheerleaders, raising awareness about the widespread lack of fair pay and workplace protections.⁴⁶[46]Carrazana, supra. Murray helped pass a California bill in 2015 requiring “teams to recognize cheerleaders as employees, not contractors” entitling them to at least state minimum wage, overtime pay and sick time.⁴⁷[47]Id. A similar bill has been introduced into New York each year since 2015, each time with little success.⁴⁸[48]Id.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ recent success, while not a direct result of formal unionization, highlights the power of collective advocacy and raises critical questions about the potential for collective bargaining in professional cheerleading.⁴⁹[49]Mundaca Law Firm, A Landmark Victory for Fair Pay: What the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ Journey Means for Workplace Equity, (June 15, 2025), https://mundacalaw.com/a-landmark-victory-for-fair-pay-what-the-dallas-cowboys-cheerleaders-journey-means-for-workplace-equity/. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), only “employees” – not independent contractors – have the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.⁵⁰[50]1 National Labor Relations Act: Law & Practice § 1.02 (2025). Because most NFL teams classify their cheerleaders as independent contractors, these workers remain exempt from the complete protection of federal labor law, including the right to organize without consequence.⁵¹[51]Mundaca, supra. This classification barrier has long been the linchpin of the struggle for fair treatment.⁵²[52]Id. Still, the DCC experience shows that unified voices can move the needle.

The professional cheerleader exists in a paradoxical role: celebrated for beauty and athleticism yet denied basic labor protections. The America’s Sweethearts documentary has helped peel back the curtain, but meaningful change will require sustained legal, cultural, and institutional efforts. Although there is a long way to go, increased public awareness signals a promising shift toward fairer treatment and compensation for professional cheerleaders. The fight for equality here is a part of a much larger fight – unequal pay for women across industries – making the cheerleaders’ battle not just a sports issue, but a reflection of persistent gender-based wage disparities in society at large.

Written by: Seany Gershen
Seany is a 2026 J.D. Candidate at Brooklyn Law School.