Latest news with #America'sSweethearts:Dallas
7NEWS
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Aussie Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward reveals emotional prank on her mother after landing a spot in iconic team
Aussie Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Faith Ward has revealed she pranked her mother after finding out she was on the iconic squad by playfully pretending she failed in her audition. The former Perth-based dancer is just one of six rookies to make the squad, joining the world-famous cheerleading squad of just 36 in the upcoming season of the US National Football League (NFL). Ward, 22, joined Sunrise for her first TV interview since the news broke on Monday, as she explained the emotional way she told her mother she had been chosen for the side. 'I rang my mum and tried to prank her,' Ward began. Ward said her mother attempted to soothe her disappointment, after hearing the fake news. 'I called her and said, 'mum, it wasn't my day.' Bless her cotton socks, she said, 'you know what Faith (it's ok)' then I showed her the uniform (and she freaked out).' An upbeat Ward previously worked on a cruise ship before being recruited for the cheer squad. Fresh from being presented with the uniform, she admitted the news still hasn't sunk in yet. 'It was all the hard work over the years,' Ward said. 'I am getting emotional because it feels like everything, I worked towards paid off. That feeling will never compare. Seriously, it was the most heartwarming, surreal feeling. I am so beyond incredibly grateful. 'Seeing the uniform in my hands knowing I am going to join most iconic team in the world was just like, 'someone wake me up from this dream'. I couldn't believe it. That's why as you can see in that photo, I am just as shocked as you guys are.' Ward displayed a huge amount of humility as she explained there aren't a lot of jobs for dancers, so she felt this was a huge moment for her and the hard work she has done. 'Growing up, I was an all-star cheerleader, professional dancer, worked my whole life towards achieving a goal,' Ward said. 'Obviously in the dance industry there's only so many jobs. In my brain I was like 'I'm reaching for the stars, I want to go for DCC'. 'When I got recruited, (I was) reached out (to) by one of the staff members, and I thought this is the time to take my chance and reach for the stars and go for my dreams. 'That's why I applied.' Ward, who has gained the nickname 'Flexi Faith' for her incredible flexibility, just finished at training camp. She confessed she is yet to do the jump splits in a routine, saying she was anxiously awaiting it. 'I'm like, 'when are we doing it?' I'm so for it. '(When I do it, I'll be thinking) oh my goodness, I have down one of the most iconic routines. 'Get the legs up, get the split and nail it. That's what will be going through my head.' The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders just got a 400 per cent increase in pay, due to the popularity of their Netflix show titled America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Ward said she was ready for the crazy adventure that will be being on the team. 'This is the smallest class of rookies,' she said. 'To have made the team and being (only one of) six people only out of thousands of girls that applied it is a dream come true. 'I felt it was rewarding for my family and friends to have seen that. 'They have seen that side of me to how hard I have worked to get to where I am. 'It felt like they were winning with me, and they were just as excited.'
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.
Cosmopolitan
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
What is the DCCs' new salary with 400% raise? Megan confirms
Thanks to collective bargaining by veteran team members, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders got themselves a 400% raise—a huge deal considering they were previously working multiple other jobs just to make ends meet. But it looks like their new salary less than expected. As a reminder: last season on America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Kat revealed that the DCC paid her the same amount as a full-time Chick-fil-A worker (around $37,947). With that number in mind, a 400 percent raise would be somewhere around $151,000. However, Megan McElaney—who helped lead the effort to renegotiate contracts—just hopped into a fan's TikTok comments and revealed that she's making less than $75,000 a year. "Hi! Many of the opportunities we get are optional and based on your schedule so it depends on the girl! Hoping for one day to make 75K!" Megan wrote, going on to add "This is also a part time job and sometimes it's only 2.5 hours a night! They're very respectful of our time and our personal lives!" This comes amid Jada McLean telling the New York Times that in 2024 (her fifth year on DCC) she was making $15 an hour and $500 for each appearance. She also confirmed that the raise has them making $75 an hour, but that they still don't get health insurance. Obviously, any raise is a huge win—but sounds like there's still a ways to go before the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are truly compensated fairly! As Jada put it to the NYT, "We are more than just cheerleaders. We're talented, strong, educated women and we're hard-working athletes who deserve to be seen as such." America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is available on Netflix now
