America’s hottest cheerleading squad has scored its own victory: The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have formed a union.
This union is believed to be the nation’s first among all professional cheerleading squads, aside from a short-lived effort by the Buffalo Bills’ “Buffalo Jills” in the mid-1990s.
The Dallas Cheerleaders Bargaining Unit has already been recognized by the Dallas Cowboys, according to a brief joint press release issued Friday by the team and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association. The agreement came after “significant discussions” between the two parties, the statement said.
The next step will be to negotiate a formal contract for the cheerleaders. The team currently has 36 active members, but it is unclear how many will be officially represented by the union. “The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are a valued part of the Cowboys organization, deeply respected for the talent and dedication they demonstrate,” both groups said in the release.
Representatives for the Cheerleaders Association, which represents the team, and the Dallas Cowboys did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment.
The announcement follows the release of a multi-season series on Netflix, “America’s Sweethearts,” which documented the ups and downs of cheerleading’s lives during and off season. The attention the show garnered allowed them to earn a 400% raise for the 2025 season, with some veteran dancers set to receive more than $75 an hour, according to a New York Times report. A previous lawsuit filed by a former cheerleader accused the Cowboys of paying her less than minimum wage. The team eventually settled the dispute.
During the Cowboys’ heyday in the 1990s, cheerleaders earned as little as $15 per game, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The team dates to 1961, but didn’t become professional until the early 1970s, when Cowboys president Tex Schramm hired local choreographer Texie Waterman, who helped create the team’s star-studded outfit, which is still worn today.
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