The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, a prominent fixture in the NFL, attended Netflix’s Tudum 2025: The Live Event on May 31, 2025, in Inglewood, California. This time, the event marked a celebration of the origins and incredible progress made by the team. It showed how their compensation structure changed dramatically after a successful, landmark lawsuit.
In September 2019, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders paid a settlement to former cheerleader Erica Wilkins, who had sued them. Because of this legal threat, the organization acted quickly. When game-day pay was doubled from $200 to $400, their stated 400% increase in pay became their flagship accomplishment. This pay raise is prominently featured in episode 7 (“Saturn Returns”) of the second season of “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” which began streaming on Netflix on June 18.
Also on hand was Megan McElaney, a four-year Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders veteran. She was soon joined by her fellow cheerleaders Madeline, Kennedy and Kelee. On her visit, McElaney elaborated on the “new changes” highlighted throughout the series. She touched on how important it is for the opposition of their work to be recognized.
“Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise,” – Megan McElaney
Fellow TF member Jada McLean criticized the raise. What was extremely touching was her message about how this experience has changed her life for the better.
“Happy’ isn’t even the right word for it,” – Jada McLean
McLean further described what that relief felt like after the lawsuit’s resolution, saying,
“I think I was just… kind of felt, like, a relief — like everything had paid off. And it was, you know, finally, we were done fighting.” – Jada McLean
As Armani Latimer put it, the majority of the aforementioned TEAM — North America’s first real TEAM — is responsible for negotiating these wages.
“We pushed, and we got back good results,” – Armani Latimer
Prominent at major gatherings, like Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders on Netflix Tudum. In many ways, this signals a departure from the traditional role of the creative industries. According to its own claims, revenues for the NFL topped more than $10 billion this year, making it the wealthiest sports league in the world. This financial backdrop has catalyzed increased media scrutiny and organized lobbying for more equitable treatment of cheerleaders in professional sports.
