The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have been globally regarded as “America’s sweethearts” for decades, and now that moniker carries an even heavier impact since the release of the second season, America’s Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix. Athletic, well-rounded, flirty, fun, and talented – Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, or the DCC as they kindly call themselves for short, are not just professional dancers but also an inspiring group of women.
This Emmy Award Nominated docuseries debuted after the former DCC show, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, was cancelled after 16 seasons in 2022. America’s Sweethearts’ predecessor was generally a reality show that documented the intense process of trying out for the DCC under coaches Kelli Fineglass and Judy Tramell, and while the new show follows a similar format, many aspects of the show are drastically different, especially how production highlights these athletes.
Through the Netflix docuseries, fans of the team and interested audiences have watched these girls get married, build families, make massive career moves, and even go on to find further success post-DCC. One such example is season one star and DCC alumni, Victoria Kalina, who has moved to New York City to continue pursuing a career as a professional dancer with dreams of joining the Radio City Rockettes. In episode two of the second season, production checked up on Kalina in NYC who is absolutely thriving since leaving Texas to chase her dreams.
Although, it’s not just these girls’ stories of personal victory and passion that have touched and inspired their devoted fanbase, but also their undying dedication to each other and the continued success of the DCC. Throughout the second season, veteran cheerleaders, Jada McLean, Armani Latimer, Amanda Howard, and Megan McElaney, utilized their newfound platforms to negotiate a better financial deal – not just for themselves but for the whole team and every new member to come.
This issue of pay was initially addressed in the first season of the Netflix docuseries with 2022 alumni, Kat Puryear, comparing the athletes’ wages to that of a “substitute teacher” or a “full-time Chick Fil A worker”, and she was not the only former DCC to feel injustice with this salary.
The topic of the DCC salary has been highly debated with full-time employees and owners claiming that it is “a privilege” to don the iconic blue and white uniform.
Before this mighty team joined forces to make a difference, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader would be paid the rough equivalent of $15/hour, a rate that more closely matches minimum wage salary instead of the pay of a highly trained and specially skilled dancer. In 2024, the Dallas Cowboys organization was valued at over $10 Billion and is recognized as the most valuable sports franchise by Forbes, yet the cheerleaders who massively contribute to the classic Cowboys brand are severely underpaid.
Although, the 2024 team are not the only cheerleaders to have spoken out and fought for their organization. Erica Wilkins filed a class action lawsuit against the Cowboys organization in 2018 which settled to raise the athletes’ pay from $8 to a whopping $12 at the time: a stunningly low amount considering that these athletes are training and presenting as members of the DCC on average of 40 hours each week on top of other jobs and responsibilities.
Much has changed since the days of minimum wage, though! Since the impact that America’s Sweethearts has had on audiences, these brave athletes have gone to great lengths and risked their own standing with the team to negotiate a successful 400% pay increase for the team.
During the last episode of season two, the veterans revealed this exciting announcement to the America’s Sweethearts production in a series of intimate interviews as they prepped for their annual team banquet. Even through stress and interpersonal drama, these athletes succeeded in ways that made not only the country proud, but the hundreds of Cowboys’ Cheerleaders that came before them.
In an interview with the New York Times, McLean stood tall stating, “we are more than just cheerleaders. We’re talented, strong, educated women and we’re hard-working athletes who deserve to be seen as such.”
During the 2025-2026 NFL season, it is confirmed that the Dallas Cowboys’ Cheerleaders will proudly be accepting this fantastic raise.