Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders unionize after years of fighting for higher pay

The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have unionized, with the NFL franchise agreeing to recognize the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association as their collective bargaining representative, according to WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando and Yahoo Sports.

This development comes after years of the cheerleaders advocating for higher pay. The Cowboys organization acknowledged the cheerleaders as a respected and talented part of the team, as noted in a joint statement reported by WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando.

In 2019, the team settled a lawsuit with a former cheerleader, which resulted in doubling the per-game pay from $200 to $400. More recently, a 400% pay increase was announced in 2025, as highlighted during the Netflix series “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” according to WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando.

The Dallas Cowboys are recognized as the most valuable professional sports team globally, according to Forbes magazine, as mentioned by Yahoo Sports. Efforts to contact the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association for further comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.

This unionization marks a significant step in formalizing the cheerleaders’ representation and addressing compensation issues within one of professional sports’ most famous cheer squads.