How Much Do NFL Cheerleaders Make?

NFL cheerleaders are reported to earn roughly $150 to $500 per game, plus separate appearance fees, but no team publishes official salaries. What's publicly known comes almost entirely from 2014-2022 wage-theft lawsuits, and pay still varies enormously by team.

What NFL Cheerleaders Reportedly Earn

There is no official NFL salary scale for cheerleaders, and teams don't publish pay rates. Every figure below comes from either a lawsuit, a journalist's reporting, or a job-listing site's estimate — treat them accordingly.

The honest summary: hard numbers exist only for a handful of teams, only from lawsuits filed roughly a decade ago, and even those aren't necessarily what any team pays today.

Why the Number Varies So Much by Team

Each of the 32 NFL franchises (minus the handful with no squad) runs its cheerleading program independently — setting its own pay, hiring a third-party agency to manage the roster, or, in some cases, negotiating rates only after litigation forced the issue. There's no league-wide cheerleader contract or union comparable to the NFL Players Association. That means:

• A per-game rate that one team pays has no bearing on what another team pays.
• Market size, local minimum-wage law, and whether a team was previously sued all appear to influence current rates.
• Most teams treat exact pay as confidential, so outside estimates are often extrapolated from old lawsuit numbers or anonymous former-cheerleader interviews.

The Lawsuits That Changed Cheerleader Pay

Between 2014 and 2022, cheerleaders for at least five NFL teams filed wage-and-hour lawsuits, arguing they were paid far below minimum wage once rehearsal and appearance hours were counted. The suits are the reason any pay figures are public at all.

The core legal claim in each case was the same: cheerleaders were classified as independent contractors, paid a flat per-game fee that didn't account for unpaid rehearsal hours and mandatory public appearances, and, once that time was factored in, effectively earned a few dollars an hour — in the Bengals' case, plaintiffs said roughly $2.85/hour.

The fallout split the league in two directions. Some teams — the Raiders and Cowboys among them — raised hourly and per-game rates and moved toward hourly pay for rehearsals. California passed AB 202 in 2015, requiring California-based teams to classify cheerleaders as employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime — a direct legislative response to the Raiders litigation. Other teams took the opposite path: the Buffalo Bills suspended their "Buffalo Jills" squad in 2014, during the litigation, and never revived it. New York state legislators have reintroduced a similar bill (sponsored by Assemblymember Nily Rozic) most years since 2015, but it has not become law.

How the Pay Actually Breaks Down

Where cheerleader pay has been documented, it typically has three separate components:

Per-game rate. A flat fee for performing at home games — historically as low as $90-$150 per game before the lawsuits, with some teams reportedly now paying $400-$500 per game. This is the number most often quoted in headlines, but it's only one part of total compensation.

Rehearsal pay. Before the 2014-2018 lawsuits, mandatory practice hours — commonly 4 to 15+ hours a week during the season — were frequently unpaid entirely. This was the central legal issue: cheerleaders' lawsuits argued that once unpaid rehearsal time was added to the hours worked, effective hourly pay fell well under minimum wage. Several settlements specifically required teams to start paying an hourly rate for practice time going forward.

Appearance fees. Cheerleaders are often booked for corporate events, calendar shoots, USO tours, charity functions, and other appearances outside game days, and these are frequently reported as the most lucrative part of the job — sometimes paid at a higher hourly or flat rate than game-day work. Exact appearance rates are rarely disclosed and appear to vary widely by team and by event.

Squads also typically require an unpaid multi-week audition and training process before the season even starts, which isn't compensated at all.

The Costs That Come Out of Their Pocket

A recurring detail in the lawsuits and subsequent reporting is that cheerleaders are commonly required to pay for some of their own job-related expenses, which reduces effective take-home pay:

• Hair styling and makeup for games and appearances
• Practice wear, gym memberships, and tanning or beauty maintenance required to meet squad appearance standards
• Travel costs for out-of-market appearances that weren't reimbursed
• In some cases, fines for showing up with the "wrong" hairstyle, weight fluctuation, or missing a promotional event

These deductions and unreimbursed costs were cited directly in several of the lawsuits (including the Raiders' case, where cheerleaders described fines for minor infractions) as part of what pushed effective hourly pay below minimum wage.

Employee or Contractor?

This classification question is the legal crux of nearly every cheerleader wage lawsuit. Historically, most NFL teams treated cheerleaders as independent contractors — sometimes hired and paid through a third-party staffing or entertainment agency rather than directly by the team. Under contractor status, teams argued they weren't bound by the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum-wage and overtime rules the way they would be for employees.

The lawsuits argued the opposite: that teams controlled cheerleaders' schedules, appearance, choreography, and conduct closely enough that they functioned as employees in every practical sense, and should be paid accordingly. Settlements in the Raiders, Buccaneers, Bengals, Jets, and Bills cases didn't always result in a formal admission of employee status, but they did produce back pay and, in several cases, a switch to hourly wages going forward. California's AB 202 went further and wrote employee classification into state law for teams based there. No comparable federal law exists, so classification still varies by team and by state.

Which NFL Teams Don't Have Cheerleaders

Several NFL franchises have never fielded an official cheerleading squad, or discontinued one, commonly citing team tradition or a "football-first" brand identity rather than pay disputes. Teams commonly reported as not having an official cheerleading squad include the Buffalo Bills (whose Jills were suspended in 2014 amid litigation and never reinstated), Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers instead use local college dance teams for some game-day entertainment rather than fielding a dedicated NFL squad. Because teams don't formally announce these decisions, this list is compiled from sports-media reporting rather than league confirmation, and it can change — verify with the team directly before treating it as current.

What the Job Actually Involves

For nearly everyone on an NFL cheerleading squad, this is a part-time second job, not a full-time career. Reporting on the role consistently describes:

• A competitive multi-round audition process, often held once a year, that itself is unpaid
• Season-long weekly rehearsals (commonly reported at several hours per week, more during Super Bowl or playoff runs)
• Home-game sideline performances, roughly 8-10 per regular season depending on the team's schedule
• Dozens of additional public appearances per year — military base visits, hospital visits, corporate events, and calendar or photo shoots
• A roster made up largely of college students, teachers, nurses, and other professionals with separate full-time jobs or degrees in progress

Squads increasingly include male members in stunt and dance roles. The Los Angeles Rams fielded the NFL's first male cheerleaders, Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies, in 2018, and both performed at Super Bowl LIII. Several other teams, including the Vikings and Panthers, have since added male cheerleaders or stunt-team members to previously all-female squads.

For comparison, NBA dance teams — a similar part-time sideline role — are reported by industry write-ups to earn roughly $15,000-$35,000 a year total, or about $200-$650 per game depending on the team, figures that are similarly undisclosed by the league itself and drawn from the same mix of reporting and estimate sites as NFL numbers. Neither league publishes official pay data, so direct comparisons should be read as rough at best.

If you're curious how other game-day roles compare, see how much NFL mascots make and how much NFL waterboys make — both are also part-time roles with pay that varies widely by team and is rarely disclosed.

FAQ

Do NFL cheerleaders get a salary? No standard salary exists league-wide. Most are paid a per-game rate plus separate fees for outside appearances, and several teams have historically paid cheerleaders as independent contractors rather than salaried employees.

Is NFL cheerleading a full-time job? For almost everyone on a squad, no. It's typically a part-time role held alongside a full-time job, degree program, or other career, given that per-game and appearance pay generally doesn't add up to a full-time income.

Which team pays cheerleaders the most? No team publishes this, so there's no verified answer. The Dallas Cowboys are the most frequently cited as a comparatively higher payer in sports-business reporting, but the underlying figures aren't independently confirmed by the team.

Why did NFL cheerleaders sue their teams? Cheerleaders for the Raiders, Buccaneers, Bengals, Jets, and Bills filed wage-and-hour lawsuits between 2014 and 2018, arguing that unpaid rehearsal time and mandatory unpaid appearances pushed their effective hourly pay below minimum wage. All five cases ended in settlements.

Are NFL cheerleaders employees or contractors? It depends on the team and state. Historically most were treated as independent contractors. California's 2015 law (AB 202) requires California-based teams to classify cheerleaders as employees; no federal law does the same nationwide.

Do all NFL teams have cheerleaders? No. Several teams, commonly reported to include the Bills, Bears, Browns, Packers, Giants, and Steelers, don't field an official cheerleading squad, generally citing team tradition rather than a public statement of policy.

Are there male NFL cheerleaders? Yes. The Los Angeles Rams introduced the NFL's first male cheerleaders in 2018, and several other teams have since added men to previously all-female squads in dance and stunt roles.