The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have officially formed a union, marking a labor shift for the NFL’s dance squad. After years of public disputes over low wages and challenging work conditions, the organization voluntarily recognized the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association as a collective bargaining representative on Friday.
Voluntary Recognition and the Path to Collective Bargaining
The formation of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association (DCCA) represents a departure from the squad’s history. Established in 1961—one year after the football team began its inaugural season—the group did not professionalize until the early 1970s. During that period, Cowboys President Tex Schramm recruited local choreographer Texie Waterman to develop the squad’s famous star-spangled uniform, which remains the group’s trademark today. Following meaningful discussion
between the team and the association, the Cowboys organization agreed to recognize the DCCA as the official representative for the squad. This agreement sets the stage for formal contract negotiations, a process that could establish the first NFL cheer squad to reach a contract.
While the union has secured recognition, many logistical details remain under development. The squad currently includes 36 active members, though it is not yet clear how many will be covered by the union’s bargaining unit. Representatives for both the DCCA and the Cowboys did not immediately provide additional comment regarding the specific timeline for contract talks.
Netflix Exposure and the Fight for Pay Parity
The unionization effort follows a period of intense public scrutiny regarding compensation. For years, the cheerleaders’ pay remained low despite their status as the face of the NFL’s most valuable franchise, which is worth an estimated $17bn, according to Forbes. The Netflix documentary series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
played a role in bringing these financial realities to light, documenting the struggle of dancers who often maintained full-time jobs elsewhere to support their demanding schedules. As the team’s director Kelli Finglass noted on the show, the push for fair wages was 60-plus years long overdue.
Wage increases began to materialize ahead of the union’s formation. Following the show’s success and internal pressure—including threats of a walkout—the squad secured a 400 percent pay raise. By the 2025 season, some veteran dancers were slated to earn more than $75 an hour, a significant jump from the $15 per hour rate reported for the 2024 season. Historical records from The Dallas Morning News indicate that during the Cowboys’ 1990s heyday, members were paid as little as $15 per game.
You see a lot of that inequality of compensation in any sort of artistic or entertainment field where you have lots of people clamoring to get into it and maybe being unpaid or very poorly paid to do so.
Victor Chen, sociologist at Virginia Commonwealth University
Lawsuits Push for Higher Cheerleader Pay
The path to professionalizing the role has been marked by litigation. In 2018, former cheerleader Erica Wilkins filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was paid less than the team’s male mascot and earned an average of $15,000 per season. A 2019 settlement involving a former cheerleader resulted in the team doubling per-game pay to $400. Another legal challenge in 2014 involved an Oakland Raiderette, Lacy Thibodeaux-Fields, who sued for violations of state minimum wage laws. During that case, attorney Sharon Vinick argued that while being a quarterback is an honor, they don’t do it for free.
That case and others that followed were ultimately resolved through settlements.
The only previous attempt by an NFL cheer squad to unionize occurred in 1995, when the Buffalo Bills’ Buffalo Jills
won a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board. Experts like Victor Chen suggest that the high profile of the Dallas squad, amplified by their Netflix documentary, gave them the bargaining power to achieve a level of recognition that previous teams could not sustain. Despite the win, members of the squad continue to advocate for broader benefits. While the most recent contract negotiations addressed hourly wages, some dancers noted that the agreement still did not provide health insurance.
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