NFL Cheerleaders Claim Teams Violate Minimum Wage Laws

by Alex Greenberg

Ben-Gals v. Bengals. Raiderettes v. Raiders. 

While the cheerleaders might not compete well against their NFL teams on the football field, in the courtroom the outcome could be much different.

Two lawsuits have been filed in 2014 alleging that cheerleaders for the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders are compensated at an amount that is far less than minimum wage. The Plaintiffs in these lawsuits allege that cheerleaders are only paid for appearing at games, despite the fact that the cheerleaders spend countless other hours attending mandatory functions.

The Ben-Gals Plaintiff alleges that she spent over 300 hours last season performing at games, practicing with her squad, participating in photo shoots, and attending charity or promotional events. Although attendance at practice and other events was mandatory, the cheerleader alleges that she was only paid for game day performances at a rate of $90 per game. The Plaintiff had to miss one game last season to attend a funeral and she was not paid for that week, despite having attended the mandatory practices earlier in the week.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, time spent attending mandatory training programs (i.e., practices) or other work-related activities (i.e., promotional events or photo shoots) constitutes “working time” in which minimum wage and overtime requirement apply. In 2013, the minimum wage in Ohio was $7.85 an hour.

Here, although the total amount of time spent added up to be over 300 hours, Plaintiff alleges she was only paid $855 for the entire season, which is approximately $2.85/hour. This seems especially egregious considering a 2003 Forbes Magazine article estimated that an average NFL cheerleading squad generates approximately $1 million dollars a season for its respective team. Also, the cheerleaders claim that NFL mascots earn up to $65,000 year.

The Ben-Gals Plaintiff also alleges that the cheerleaders are led to believe that they will earn extra cash through paid appearances. However, Plaintiff claims she made many appearances last season and she was only paid on one occasion—at a “charity rate” of $75.00. The cheerleaders even have to provide their own transportation to such events, some of which are several hours away.

The amount of pay given to NFL cheerleaders is a concern for many teams, but not all. The Seattle Seahawks were the Super Bowl Champions for the 2013-2014 season and the organization’s website states that it compensates their cheerleaders, the Sea-Gals, at “an hourly wage and any applicable overtime required by law, for all hours worked.” Although having well-paid cheerleaders probably did not help the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, it did keep the organization out of the courtroom during the off-season.