NFL cheerleader salary: How much does an NFL cheerleader make?

7 out of 32 teams didn't had cheerleaders during the 2022 season.

NFL cheerleader salary: How much does an NFL cheerleader make?

(Image via Getty Images)

The NFL is one of the most profitable sporting leagues in the entire world. NFL athletes get paid a lot of money depending on their position. Furthermore, it’s not just the players and coaches, the most popular sporting league in the United States has also plenty of other employment opportunities.

There are sports photographers, writers, waterboys, and cheerleaders who all do their best to earn money through the sport. In this article, we’ll take a look at how much the NFL Cheerleaders make throughout the season.

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First of all, not every team in the league employs cheerleaders. In the 2022 season, there were seven teams that didn’t have cheerleaders including the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills. Some places are just too cold to have cheer girls and other franchises just don’t want to do it.

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Furthermore, the NY Giants is the only NFL franchise that hasn’t had cheerleaders ever in their history. The Giants co-owner John Mara once explained why they never had a cheer team. “Philosophically we have always had issues with sending scantily clad women out on the field to entertain our fans,” said Mara.

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How much do the NFL cheerleaders get paid?

Falcons Cheerleaders SI
(Image via SI)

Cheerleaders entertain the audience from the sidelines and get a good view of the game. However, the cheer girls are not that well financially rewarded. According to multiple reports, the average salary of a professional NFL cheerleader is around $75,000 per year.

However, a supporting cheer girl gets only paid around $20k a year. Hourly, a professional cheerleader gets paid around $15-20 an hour, while a supporting cheerleader only gets paid around $9 an hour.

Apart from the match day salaries, some cheerleaders also make money via public appearances or advertisements. There has been an increase in salary in recent times following many complaints that the cheer girls were getting paid too low.

Teams started to pay the Cheerleaders minimum wage after lawsuits were filed

Cardinals Cheerleaders AP
(Image via AP)

Just like the NFL players, the Cheerleaders also spend a lot of time before and after the game in their preparations. They spend a lot of practicing and co-ordinating moves and some women thought that they weren’t getting paid enough wage for their work.

In 2014, the Oakland Raiders were ordered to pay the cheerleaders minimum wages after a complaint. According to reports the cheer girls were only getting paid $5 an hour. Two women sued the Raiders and won a $1.25 million settlement with the franchise.

On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills got rid of their ‘Jills’ cheer squad after facing a lawsuit in 2014. Five cheerleaders complained that they were not getting paid for their work and eventually won a $3.5 million settlement.

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