DCC Reece Weaver on Cheerleader Vs. Dak Prescott’s NFL Salary

While Reece Weaver is “grateful” that she still earns an income for dancing on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders team, it is still pennies compared to the salaries allocated for the football players.

During Weaver’s recent appearance on the “Unplanned” podcast, she was asked about the salary discrepancy after host Matt Howard questioned whether a Google answer of $75,000 was listed as the correct income for DCCs.

“There is your testament to never trust what Google says,” Weaver, 22, quipped, confirming she earns less than that amount for the entire NFL season. “I would say [it’s lower], but I know there’s a lot of controversy with how much we get paid and stuff like that. I’m grateful that we do get paid because, in some instances, some NFL programs do not get paid as much as we do. So, we are very grateful in that sense.”

She added, “Like any other NFL cheerleader, you have to be able to have another income coming in [and] you have to have another job with it. Yes, you do see these football players and you’re, like, ‘Wow, you are making so much money,’ but at the end of this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and because it is so prestigious, not everyone can say they’re a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. That in itself is a chapter I’m always going to cherish.”

Podcast host Matt and his wife, Abby Howard, were floored by Weaver’s admission. Matt pointed out that Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is signed to a four-year deal for $160 million, which is likely more than all of the NFL cheerleaders in the league combined.

“It’s wild,” Weaver said. “Could very well [make more than all of us].”

Weaver made the DCC team for the first time in summer 2023, which was chronicled on Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders docuseries, fresh off her graduation from the University of Alabama. During her rookie year in the 2023-2024 season, Weaver needed to supplement her DCC salary by getting a second job at a flower shop.

“Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders for sure [pays me more],” Weaver said, noting that she does make more at the shop hourly versus her overall yearly income. “What kind of is a blessing in disguise is I don’t have a 9-to-5 job as of right now just because throughout this year, I wanted something to, obviously, bring in a little bit more income but something that I enjoyed.”

She continued, “And, thankfully, [my husband] Will [Allman’s] job is great and we’re doing great in that sense.”

Weaver, who married collegiate sweetheart Allman in April, wanted a part-time gig that allowed her ample time to practice her DCC routines.

“A good bit of us do have 9-to-5 jobs, but those are like second-year, third-year [or] fourth-year vets, who have walked in our shoes [already],” Weaver said, noting that vets don’t have the same level of first-time commitments and practices.

Weaver, who made the DCC squad for a second year for the upcoming 2024-2025 NFL season, isn’t as concerned with the low paychecks since joining the DCC has been a lifelong dream. The love of the performance, similarly, is how Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones defended the low salaries.

“There’s a lot of cynicism around pay for NFL cheerleaders, as there should be. They’re not paid a lot. But the facts are that they actually don’t come here for the money,” Jones, 58, said in the America’s Sweethearts doc. “They come here for something that’s actually bigger than that to them. They have a passion for dance. There are not a lot of opportunities in the field of dance, and to get to perform at an elite level.”

She continued, “It is about being a part of something bigger than themselves. It is about a sisterhood that they were able to form, about relationships that they have for the rest of their lives. They have a chance to feel like they’re valued, that they’re special and that they are making a difference. When the women come here, they find their passion and they find their purpose.”