Dallas Cowboys recognize cheerleaders’ union ahead of contract talks
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association has won recognition from the team. Bargaining for the squad’s first contract is the next step.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the NFL team announced on Friday, October 23, that the squad had formed a union, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association. The Cowboys have recognized its bargaining unit, clearing the way for contract talks over the dancers’ work with the franchise.
The recognition followed ‘meaningful discussion’ between the two sides, according to a joint release cited by NBC News. The release called the cheerleaders an ‘esteemed part’ of the Cowboys organization and praised their talent and dedication. The team told USA TODAY Sports it had no further comment.
What union recognition means for the cheerleaders
Recognition establishes the association as a bargaining counterpart for the Cowboys. The next step is to negotiate an official contract, NBC reported. The announcement did not set out contract terms or a timetable for bargaining, so the pay and working conditions that might emerge from talks remain unsettled.
NBC reported that the squad has 36 active members, though it was not immediately clear how many will be represented by the union. Representatives of the association and the Cowboys did not immediately respond to NBC’s requests for additional comment.
Pay disputes and a rare precedent
Pay has already been a prominent issue for the squad. USA TODAY Sports reported that the dancers said they were due a 400% raise for the 2025 season, following attention to their salaries in the Netflix series ‘America’s Sweethearts.’ The reported raise predates the union announcement and is separate from any future bargaining agreement.
NBC reported that some veteran dancers were expected to earn more than $75 an hour after the raise, citing The New York Times. It also reported that a former cheerleader had sued the Cowboys over allegations that she was paid less than minimum wage; the team settled that suit. Those earlier pay issues help explain the significance of formal representation, without establishing what the new union will seek or secure.
NBC described the association as believed to be the first union among professional sports cheerleading squads in the United States apart from a short-lived effort by the Buffalo Bills’ ‘Buffalo Jills’ in the mid-1990s. The Dallas squad dates to 1961 and became a professional operation in the early 1970s, NBC reported.
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Sources and context
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders unionize, will collectively bargain with teamUSA TODAY Sports (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are unionizingNBC News
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.