Latest news with #McElaney
The Age
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
These cheerleaders secured a 400% pay rise. But it's still not enough
So the fact that salary negotiations were a major plot line throughout season two was something that I very much welcomed. The veteran team members in particular were ready to rally and fight for not only what they deserved, but the future they wanted for the next generation of cheerleaders long after they were gone. Loading Now, apologies for the spoilers (though I find it impossible to believe that anyone watching the show didn't binge it over a couple of marathon sittings), the good news is that by the end of the season and following some pretty rough negotiations, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders secured a 400 per cent pay rise for the next season and beyond. But before you get too excited and think, 'How great! That's a salary of more than $230,000 for a part-time job, what an iconic slay for the girls!' Sadly, that's not quite the case. While the pay increase means that a cheerleader's base salary for game days alone will now be around $77,000, everything else is still up for grabs. Last week, Megan McElaney, who is a fourth-year veteran and was crucial to the salary increase negotiations, talked about her pay bump on TikTok, saying that despite the improvement, she's still earning much less than you'd think. 'Many of the opportunities we get are optional and based on your schedule, so it depends on the girl,' McElaney said, before adding that despite four years of service to the team, her position as a senior dancer and mentor to first-year rookies, she is still 'hoping for one day to make 75K ($AU$114,000)!' Don't get me wrong, a salary of $77,000 for a part-time job is something many of us would dream of. But when you consider how physically demanding the job is, the number of dancers who require corrective surgeries almost as soon as they hang up their short shorts, the lack of health insurance coverage, and the fact that the company they work for is worth $15 billion, $77,000 feels like the absolute bare minimum. But more than that, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders highlights a much more serious and darker reality of why financial independence is so important for women. In season one, dancer Kelcey Wetterberg talks about being stalked by a fan and having a tracking device placed on her car. Team management also tell viewers why they carry a football during photo ops with fans and cheerleaders (so that male fans have something to hold on to and don't inappropriately touch the dancers). In season two, Chandi Dayle opens up about being in an abusive relationship, and experiencing harassment and stalking after she left. While the Dallas Cowboys are in no way responsible for these events, if they are truly committed to keeping women safe, decades of research, reporting, statistics and data tell us that one of the best ways to do that is through financial freedom. That could be paying them enough so that they have the savings and necessary means to leave an unsafe environment. It could be having the money to hire a lawyer and ensure you receive the representation you deserve in matters pertaining to your safety. It could be earning enough that you can afford psychological support and care to process your experiences. Too often when we discuss salaries, requests for pay rises are seen as someone simply wanting to get ahead and make it to what they feel like is the next level. But the reality is that, aside from women deserving to be adequately remunerated for their expertise and value to a company, money is also a tool to keep women safe. If the Cowboys truly care about that, it's something Jerry and Charlotte Jones would do well to remember that next time negotiations come around.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
These cheerleaders secured a 400% pay rise. But it's still not enough
So the fact that salary negotiations were a major plot line throughout season two was something that I very much welcomed. The veteran team members in particular were ready to rally and fight for not only what they deserved, but the future they wanted for the next generation of cheerleaders long after they were gone. Loading Now, apologies for the spoilers (though I find it impossible to believe that anyone watching the show didn't binge it over a couple of marathon sittings), the good news is that by the end of the season and following some pretty rough negotiations, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders secured a 400 per cent pay rise for the next season and beyond. But before you get too excited and think, 'How great! That's a salary of more than $230,000 for a part-time job, what an iconic slay for the girls!' Sadly, that's not quite the case. While the pay increase means that a cheerleader's base salary for game days alone will now be around $77,000, everything else is still up for grabs. Last week, Megan McElaney, who is a fourth-year veteran and was crucial to the salary increase negotiations, talked about her pay bump on TikTok, saying that despite the improvement, she's still earning much less than you'd think. 'Many of the opportunities we get are optional and based on your schedule, so it depends on the girl,' McElaney said, before adding that despite four years of service to the team, her position as a senior dancer and mentor to first-year rookies, she is still 'hoping for one day to make 75K ($AU$114,000)!' Don't get me wrong, a salary of $77,000 for a part-time job is something many of us would dream of. But when you consider how physically demanding the job is, the number of dancers who require corrective surgeries almost as soon as they hang up their short shorts, the lack of health insurance coverage, and the fact that the company they work for is worth $15 billion, $77,000 feels like the absolute bare minimum. But more than that, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders highlights a much more serious and darker reality of why financial independence is so important for women. In season one, dancer Kelcey Wetterberg talks about being stalked by a fan and having a tracking device placed on her car. Team management also tell viewers why they carry a football during photo ops with fans and cheerleaders (so that male fans have something to hold on to and don't inappropriately touch the dancers). In season two, Chandi Dayle opens up about being in an abusive relationship, and experiencing harassment and stalking after she left. While the Dallas Cowboys are in no way responsible for these events, if they are truly committed to keeping women safe, decades of research, reporting, statistics and data tell us that one of the best ways to do that is through financial freedom. That could be paying them enough so that they have the savings and necessary means to leave an unsafe environment. It could be having the money to hire a lawyer and ensure you receive the representation you deserve in matters pertaining to your safety. It could be earning enough that you can afford psychological support and care to process your experiences. Too often when we discuss salaries, requests for pay rises are seen as someone simply wanting to get ahead and make it to what they feel like is the next level. But the reality is that, aside from women deserving to be adequately remunerated for their expertise and value to a company, money is also a tool to keep women safe. If the Cowboys truly care about that, it's something Jerry and Charlotte Jones would do well to remember that next time negotiations come around.
The Herald Scotland
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders: Members get a 400% pay raise
It was revealed on the Netflix series "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders" when member Megan McElaney, a four-year veteran from Oceanside, California, mentioned the increase. "Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise," McElaney said, via the Associated Press. "And we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is like, life-changing." In 2019, the group fought for a raise in game rates, which doubled from $200 to $400 at the time. Former member Kristin Westbrook took to Instagram, where she revealed some of the pay structure. "When I was on the team, it was: hourly for practice [of] $15/hour," she wrote on her Instagram Stories on Saturday June 21, via US Weekly. She added that members would also get "flat fees" for various other performances. "Flat fee for appearances - $100 (x # of years on the team)," Westbrook added, pointing out that a rookie would make $100, while a second-year veteran would earn $200 and so on. Veterans and rookies are on different pay scales, with the former earning more money with more experience. The El Paso Times noted that "a veteran will see her pay increase from a reported $15 per hour to $60 per hour, and there will be many appearances by the team outside of game days." Salaries are not disclosed, but reports indicate that a veteran will make around $150,000 per year. Even though they received an increase in compensation, the group still does not receive health insurance from the team. Former cheerleader, Jada McLean, told the New York Times in an interview that she made $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance in 2024. It's been a long battle for raises from cheerleaders, who have cited concerns dealing with financial stress in recent years. They are a key component of the game day experience for many teams, giving them a unique position to negotiate from. Now that the Cowboys cheerleaders have received their raise, the hope is that the new deal will provide some financial security that was previously lacking under the old compensation package. In December 2024, Forbes listed the Cowboys as the most valuable franchise in sports at $10.1 billion. It appears their cheerleaders are now going to be paid like it.
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders get 400% pay raise
America's sweethearts are getting a raise. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders secured a pay raise of approximately 400% for the 2025 season. The pay bump is revealed in episode 7 ("Saturn Returns") of the second season of "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders," which began streaming on Netflix June 18. In the episode, Megan McElaney, a four-year veteran of the team, speaks to the camera, telling the audience there are "new changes" this season. "Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise," McElaney says. "And we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is like, life-changing." "'Happy' isn't even the right word for it," former cheerleader Jada McLean says separately. "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." "We pushed, and we got back good results," fellow team member Armani Latimer adds. When reached by ABC News about the matter, the Dallas Cowboys said, "We're pleased, as you'll see in the series, that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were happy with the outcome." In September 2019, the Cowboys settled a lawsuit with former cheerleader Erica Wilkins and doubled the cheerleaders' game-day pay from $200 to $400. The Dallas Cowboys are one of the most valuable NFL teams in the league. Forbes ranked the organization as the No. 1 richest league at over $10 billion in 2024.
