Do All NFL Teams Have Cheerleaders?

When you see professional cheerleaders, you will notice that they do not really lead cheers. Not like their counterparts in college or high school do anyways. The stadiums and crowds are just too large for that to take place.

Seven NFL teams do not have cheerleaders. They are the: Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Pittsburg Steelers. Six of the teams forego the inclusion of cheerleaders because their home stadiums are too cold for the task.

However, the cheerleaders are there to entertain the fans when the game gets slow, there is a time out or other stoppages of play. They do a good job at it and often are promoted to other positions that are more lucrative for the women.

Not every NFL team has a cheerleading squad. To find out more about the topic, just continue to read our article. It has those names as well as other pertinent information

What NFL teams have no cheerleaders?

There are 32 teams currently active in the NFL today. Almost all of them have cheerleaders helping to entertain the fans. But 6 do not, so that leaves 26 teams with cheerleading squads.

As you read the names of these 6 teams a pattern should appear obvious to you. The names of these teams are the New York Giants, The Green Bay Packers, The Chicago Bears, the Buffalo Bills, and the Cleveland Browns.

If you were paying close attention, there are two things you should have spotted that all these 6 teams have in common. The first thing they have in common is that they are all located in the colder northern regions of the country.

Cheerleaders wear skimpy costumes and they would be very cold dancing about in sub-zero weather. Those cities do get very cold temperatures late in the football season.

The second thing they have in common is that they all play in open-air stadiums. There are no domes protecting the players, fans or any cheerleaders that do show up. Unlike Detroit, which is in the frozen north but has the Silverdome to play in, these teams have no protection from the elements. Nor do their cheerleaders.

Why don’t the Giants have cheerleaders?

It is hard to say why the New York Giants do not have cheerleaders. One source says this team was like the Cleveland Browns and never had any cheerleaders at any time.

This source may be excused for not knowing about any cheerleaders the Giants may have had as another source indicates that the Giants may have had a squad back in the late 1950s and early 60s but the squad’s presence was so fleeting no one remembers them.

Also, getting official confirmation is difficult. The Giant’s football games were filmed until about 1964, a year after the alleged squad was dismantled. If there was a squad of cheerleaders at some point for the Giants, it went against the official philosophy of team ownership.

In a 2010 interview with co-owner John Mara, it was stated that the Giants took a button-down, blue-collar approach to football including what goes on at the sidelines, and cheerleading was not appropriate and did not fit that philosophy.

It is a good philosophy as the cheerleading squads really do not add much value to the game. Most are not seen anyways as the fans keep their eyes on the action taking place on the field.

Do the NFL cheerleaders get paid?

Yes, they do and that paycheck can be the source of some controversy. It is well known that cheerleaders do not get the same level of pay as football players do. Of course, there is no league minimum that all teams have to abide by either when it comes to paying their cheerleading members.

The average yearly salary is between $20,000 and $75,000 depending on the team, the leadership position of the cheerleaders, and if the teams go deep into the playoffs. The hourly average works out to about $15 to $20 and some cheerleaders make $500 a game.

There are what are called supporting cheerleaders and they do not make the big bucks. Right now they are paid $9 an hour and make about $250 per game. That would put them at the $20,000 per year side of the pay scale.

There are also special appearances the squad makes and those are paid at a rate of about $50 to $75 per appearance. It will depend on the source you use and believe about how much money cheerleaders make. Not every source says the same thing. Some just copy the content from other sources writing about the same topic.

Do NFL cheerleaders travel with the team?

This will depend on the team’s management. If you are a member of the famous Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders then you get to travel with the team as well as make appearances all over the world.

Usually, the girls do not travel with the teams they represent. Their jobs are limited to the home games and any playoff games the team plays in. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen.

If they are not traveling, the members of the cheerleading squads may be doing public appearances at charity events, doing photoshoots, or participating in their annual training camps. There is a lot of practice involved as well.

Cheerleaders are expected to pose for calendars and then help sell those items when they are not busy. That helps fill in any free time they have when they are not practicing or attending any of the games.

Some special facts about cheerleaders in the NFL

There are some special requirements that the girls must meet when they are a member of the different cheerleading squads. These requirements may not be uniform across the league but all indications are most teams may abide by them.

1. all cheerleaders must have a regular job outside of cheerleading
2. all cheerleaders must have a high school diploma or GED
3. if they do not have a job, being a full-time student is acceptable
4. there is no official height or weight restrictions or requirements
5. the oldest cheerleader is 42
6. some actresses have been NFL cheerleaders- Teri Hatcher & Phyllis Smith are two
7. to go to the Pro Bowl game, a cheerleader must be selected by her fellow cheerleaders
8. only one cheerleader per team is allowed to go to the Pro Bowl game
9. women have to buy and then resell 100 calendars while the men only have to buy and resell 20
10. the Baltimore Ravens are said to be the only team with male cheerleaders
11. auditions can be a very long process which includes written tests, interviews, and several auditions
12. cheerleaders can bring in up to and possibly over $1 million per team in revenues

Some rules cheerleaders have to follow

Again, these rules may not be applied by every team but they do exist. The reason everyone is hearing about the rules is that some cheerleaders have filed lawsuits against the different teams and the details come out.

1. must buy their own uniforms- these can cost over $500 and the cheerleaders may need more than one
2. rehearsal is mandatory- if they don’t they can be fined and fired
3. no sitting down on the job- cheerleaders as supposed to be standing and moving at all times. The exception is if a team official says they can sit
4. no multi-colored hair- no highlights or weird colors
5. must speak proper English- no slang is allowed as the cheerleaders are told they are representing the team including during their off time
6. using utensils is mandatory- no finger food for the cheerleaders. Silverware is a must at all meals and their handbooks can go into a lot of dining do’s and don’ts
7. no make-up touch-ups in public- this includes during the game and when they go out in public. The girls are supposed to present a perfect image to the fans
8. no risque photos or images- if the girls are on social media, their photos must be modest and acceptable. This comes from the NFL itself and they are the judge of what is or isn’t appropriate
9. hair has to look perfect- glamorous is the best term here and the hair should sparkle
10. conversations are monitored- there are specific rules on what the cheerleaders can talk about and what words they are allowed to use.
11. must maintain good personal hygiene- the handbooks dictate a lot of rules about  this including the mandatory no underwear rule

Some final words

Ever since the Baltimore Colts originated the idea of having a cheerleading squad on the payroll, different teams have followed suit. Some teams have tried it and then eliminated that position for different reasons.

Detroit used to be in the no cheerleading squad category but they added that position only recently. With the toxic atmosphere and all the controversies surrounding cheerleaders, it is anyone’s guess as to how long those 26 teams will maintain their cheerleading teams.