What happened
The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are a union now.
On Friday, the Cowboys agreed to voluntarily recognize the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association as the squad's collective bargaining representative. The association announced the move in a news release, saying the decision came after what it called "meaningful discussion" with the team.
Recognition is only the first step. Next comes bargaining: the two sides will sit down to negotiate the squad's first union contract — the wages, hours, and working conditions that dancers have fought over for decades.
Dallas is not the first NFL squad to try. In 1995, the National Labor Relations Board ruled the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders had the right to unionize, and the Buffalo Jills briefly joined the National Football League Cheerleaders Association. That effort faded fast, and the Jills folded in 2014. The difference this time: the team said yes.
Why it matters
The contrast was always the point. The Cowboys are the most valuable franchise in football, worth $17 billion by Forbes' measure — and the women on the most famous sideline in the sport were for years paid wages that forced many to hold full-time jobs on the side. Their pay fight echoes a wider strain on [American workers feeling the cost-of-living squeeze](/article/cost-of-living-strain-us-workers-midterm-elections).
Netflix's "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" dragged that gap into the open. The second season followed the 36-member squad through tense contract talks, with walkout threats on the table. Several dancers said they worked regular jobs alongside the punishing DCC schedule just to pay their bills.
By the end of that season, the dancers had won a 400% pay raise — some saw their hourly rate jump from $15 in the 2024 season to $75. But the win had limits. One squad member told the New York Times the new deal raised game-day appearance pay without adding health insurance. That gap is exactly what a union contract is built to close.
The fight goes back further. In 2018, former cheerleader Erica Wilkins filed a federal fair-wage lawsuit against the Cowboys, saying she averaged $15,000 a season in Dallas and earned less than the team's male mascot. The squad dates to 1961 — one year after the football team played its first NFL season — and has been a pop-culture fixture nearly as long as the franchise.
What happens next
Bargaining begins. Health coverage, appearance fees, and offseason pay are the obvious items on the table — the last contract's holes are now public knowledge, which gives the association leverage.
Every other NFL squad will be watching. Cheerleaders across the league face the same economics, and a signed Dallas contract would hand them a template. It also lands in a season where labor questions keep surfacing around the league — [commissioner Roger Goodell has welcomed an investigation into how Jalen Hurts' injury was handled](/article/goodell-nfl-welcomes-investigation-jalen-hurts-medical-care).
The Cowboys' move avoids a fight: voluntary recognition means no drawn-out NLRB election, no legal trench warfare. The Bills' 1990s effort died without the team's cooperation. This one starts with it — and that may be what makes it stick.
