Netflix’s latest documentary shines a light on the pain and glory of being one of ‘America’s Sweethearts’.
The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (the DCC) are the most famous NFL cheer team in the US, regarded by many as being more famous than the actual football team. However, the cheerleaders are paid below minimum wage for their work, raising questions about how much the 9 billion dollar Dallas Cowboys franchise values these women who are the “face of the organisation”.
The series shows the gruelling and competitive process of becoming a DCC from auditions, to makeovers, to learning countless cheer routines. Along with the rookies, the veteran team members are also subjected to this exhaustive process every year too. Out of over 400 applicants, only 70 make it to Dallas for live auditions and just 36 make the final team.
Kelli Finglass, director and former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader leads the operation ruthlessly, cutting candidates for the smallest of imperfections. The cheerleaders must be highly-trained dancers, fit and flexible. But most importantly a candidate must be able to perfect the iconic “Thunderstruck” dance routine which involves countless high-kicks and the infamous jump-split.
Aside from technical requirements, there are strict aesthetic requirements including height, weight, and whether or not a candidate has the “DCC look”. In an environment where “the uniform fits you and not the other way around”, the psychological impact on the cheerleaders is extensive. Four-year veteran Victoria opens up in the documentary about eating disorders and depression arising from DCC’s aesthetic expectations.
Despite having to be highly skilled dancers, picture-perfect, and outrageously athletic to make the cut, the cheerleaders are paid below minimum wage across their season. They train at least 20 hours per week on top of working game days and other appearances during the 18-week NFL season, getting paid approximately $15 per hour. It is revealed in one of the episodes that the team worked 21 days straight with no days off. This means most of the cheerleaders have to work a full-time job on top of being a DCC. Kelsey, the team captain works as a nurse by day and a cheerleader by night often getting under 5 hours of sleep per night.
Charlotte Jones, the Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President, Chief Brand Officer, and daughter of founder Jerry Jones, justified that being a DCC is not about the money but about “a passion for dance” and “being a part of something bigger than themselves”. But when the average salary for an NFL football player is around 2 million (US) dollars (reported by AS news), you begin to question this logic. To put this even more into perspective the lowest-paid Dallas Cowboys player made $832,500 last season and their quarterback Dak Prescott has a contract worth $160 million.
The Netflix documentary highlights that it is hard to become a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader but even harder to be a woman in sports. Being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader is the most elite level of cheerleading. They bring in crowds and are central to the Dallas Cowboys franchise. Clearly being underpaid is not a concern for the male football players working under the same organisation. Would they tolerate minimum wage for making it to the top of their game?