Charlotte Jones addresses Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders pay

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer Charlotte Jones addressed the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders pay in the Netflix docuseries.

Josh Sanchez | Jun 29, 2024

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America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has cracked the top 10 of Netflix's most-watched shows of the past week.

With the popularity of the America's Sweethearts, which gives an inside look at what it takes to be a member of the iconic DCC, started a discussion of NFL cheerleader pay and salaries after the topic was discussed on the series.

The Cowboys cheerleaders make significantly more than other cheerleaders around the league, but it is not enough to make the gig a full-time job.

NFL cheerleaders make less than NFL water boys, who make about $53,000 per year, and team mascots, who earn approximately $25,000 per season.

MORE: How much are Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders paid?

Former Cowboys cheerleader Kat Puryear revealed she made around the same as "a substitute teacher. I would say I’m making … like a Chick-fil-A worker who works full time."

Tina Kalina, a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader in the 1980s, told producers she made approximately $35 per game.

Cowboys executive vice president and chief brand officer Charlotte Jones, the daughter of team owner Jerry Jones, discussed the low pay on the Netflix docuseries and said that the financial incentive is not what makes being a DCC appealing.

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Instead, Jones believes cheerleaders are drawn by their "passion of dance" and to "find their purpose."

"There’s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders, as there should be. They’re not paid a lot. But the facts are that they actually don’t come here for the money. They come here for something that’s actually bigger than that to them," she said, via the Dallas Morning News.

“They have a passion for dance. There are not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance, and to get to perform at an elite level. … It is about being a part of something bigger than themselves. It is about a sisterhood that they were able to form, about relationships that they have for the rest of their lives. They have a chance to feel like they’re valued, that they’re special and that they are making a difference. When the women come here, they find their passion and they find their purpose."

MORE: Meet Kelcey Wetterberg: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader

While the Cowboys would not directly address speculation about the cheerleader pay, a Cowboys spokesperson said the team "pays cheerleaders for games, practices and appearances and covers the cost of uniforms, some meals, health club memberships and salon services."

The women also work as dance instructors or other jobs in-season and during the offseason. Kelcey Wetterberg, for example, is a pediatric nurse.

On the show, she was filmed caring for a patient while balancing the high-pressure job as a nurse with the stress and daily routine of going through what it takes to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is streaming on Netflix now. The series features seven episodes that run approximately one hour each.