The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to bargain with a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders union. In a joint statement on Friday, October 23, the team recognized the newly formed Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association. It will be the squad’s collective bargaining representative, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The statement called the cheerleaders “an esteemed part of the Cowboys organization” and said the deal followed “meaningful discussion.” The squad has 36 members, 28 veterans and eight rookies, according to the Star-Telegram. NBC News reported that it is unclear how many of them the union will represent.
The association has not said whether it belongs to a national union. Reporters could not reach it on Friday, the New York Post reported.
The Buffalo Jills got there first, in 1995
This is not the NFL’s first cheer union. NBC News calls it believed to be the first among pro cheer squads, apart from a short-lived effort by the Buffalo Jills. The Associated Press, via ESPN, simply calls the Jills the first cheer squad to unionize.
The Bills’ squad voted in early 1995 to form the National Football League Cheerleaders Association, the Baltimore Sun reported at the time. The Jills were paid nothing per game. They got a parking pass, a field pass and a guest ticket, plus $25 an hour for public appearances.
A 2014 legal analysis in Sports Litigation Alert gives the vote as 29-2. First, an NLRB regional director had to rule that the Jills were employees, not contractors. The sponsor then dropped the squad, and the Jills gave up the union to find sponsors for 1996.
There is one real difference. The Jills worked for a private company that contracted the squad to the Bills, the Sun reported. In Dallas, the team itself is across the table.
We found no other unionized NFL or NBA dance team in current reporting. As far as we can tell, this is the first NFL cheer union since the Jills.
Recognition skipped the federal election
Federal labor law offers two routes to a union. Under section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act, a union chosen by a majority becomes the “exclusive” representative of the whole unit. Workers can petition the National Labor Relations Board, which runs a secret-ballot election and certifies the result.
The other route is voluntary recognition, where the employer accepts the union without a vote. Employers don’t have to do this. They “have the right to decline to voluntarily recognize the union and insist on an election,” notes a Kilpatrick Townsend legal alert on Supreme Court precedent.
The Cowboys chose not to insist, so bargaining can start without an NLRB vote. Neither side has said how the association showed it had majority support.
Recognition comes with a legal duty. Section 8(d) of the Act requires both sides to meet at reasonable times. They must “confer in good faith” on wages, hours and other terms. The same section says neither side has to accept a proposal or make a concession.
From $200 a game to a 400% raise
Pay is the backdrop. Dallas cheerleaders once earned as little as $15 a game, NBC News reported, citing The Dallas Morning News.
A former cheerleader, Erica Wilkins, sued over pay in 2018. In 2019, hourly pay rose from $8 to $12 and game pay from $200 to $400, NBC News reported in June 2025.
The bigger jump came on camera. The second season of Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts” ended with a 400% raise for 2025. Former cheerleader Jada McLean told The New York Times she made $15 an hour and $500 per appearance in 2024.
Veterans could now make more than $75 an hour, she said, WLOS reported. The team has not disclosed exact pay.
That raise was the team’s decision, announced on a reality show. A contract would put pay in writing for a fixed term. That is the practical case for a union, even after a large raise.
What performer unions usually negotiate
The association hasn’t published demands. Other performer unions show what typically goes into a contract.
The American Guild of Variety Artists represents the Rockettes and theme park performers at Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. Its site says its contracts set salary minimums. They also cover safety, health benefits, rehearsal rules, overtime, travel, vacation, sick pay and auditions.
For cheerleaders, the Sports Litigation Alert analysis listed pay for practices, appearances and photo shoots. It also listed minimum wage, overtime and expense reimbursement. The Jills in 1995 wanted more say over uniforms, routines and music, plus a better practice space, the Sun reported.
Why other NFL squads are watching
Most NFL cheer squads don’t have the Dallas squad’s fame. Virginia Commonwealth University sociologist Victor Chen told the AP that the squad likely benefited from that profile and the Netflix show. Without it, he said, a team might try to replace its cheerleaders, since many people will take entertainment jobs for low pay.
The NFL itself keeps growing. It scheduled a record nine regular-season games in seven countries in 2026, including Sunday’s Steelers-Saints game in Paris. Cheer squads are part of that game-day show, and Dallas is now the one with a seat at the table.
Bargaining is next, and neither side has given a timeline. Netflix has renewed “America’s Sweethearts” for a fourth season, the Star-Telegram reported.
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