What is the maximum tenure for a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader? Explained

The Netflix docuseries America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has sparked renewed interest in the inner workings of the longstanding cheerleading troupe. This includes questions about the criteria for auditioning and remaining within the cheerleading squad.

There is no maximum tenure for a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. most members have to re-audition every year, with rare exceptions.

Therefore, while cheerleaders of any adult age and background can compete for a spot on the team, the exacting standards of the audition and training process, and not a hard age limit, serve as the largest barrier to entry into the squad.

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Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders have to audition every year

Cheerleaders can join on a yearly basis, with no hard upper limit. At the end of every NFL season, the roster is dissolved, and fresh auditions are held for the next season.

Cheerleaders auditioning for the first time are classified as rookie candidates, and those auditioning after already completing a year or more are known as veteran candidates. Even for long-standing veterans, the re-audition process can be equally challenging, as veterans have no innate advantages over rookies.

In the Netflix docuseries, the most number of years a veteran managed to stay on was five years.

Sisters VonCeil and Vanessa Baker currently hold the longest tenure for cheerleading with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, with 8 years each under their belt. They were prominent names in the squad during the 1970s, before retiring in the '80s.

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Re-auditions and pay are the biggest barriers to entry

The primary reason why Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tend to retire after a few years is because of the exacting auditioning and training process, as well as the relatively low pay.

Veterans are routinely cut from the team when re-auditioning for the next season, and cheerleaders frequently take second jobs to support themselves. As Kat Puryear put it in the docuseries:

"I would say I'm making, like, a substitute teacher [salary]. I would say I'm making, like, Chick-fil-A worker that works full-time."

Even higher-ups in the organization, such as Director Kelli Fingless and Chief Branding Officer, Charlotte Jones, admit that cheerleading is not a high-paying or optimal long-term career path, with Charlotte saying to the Dallas Morning News.

"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. They come here for something that’s actually bigger than that to them."

Charlotte's comments indicated that the biggest benefits of being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader were the relationships the cheerleaders built with their teammates, as well as the opportunity to hone their dance skills at an elite level.

Kelli also stated in the docuseries that cheerleading was not a permanent career path:

"What the girls can't forget is, this won't last forever. But the most important thing you can do is be grateful, because it's so dramatic to go from every hour of every day being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader to turning in your uniform tomorrow and wondering "What am I?". But that's the reality."

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Joining the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is an incredibly demanding job. Even if there is no upper limit on the number of years you can be part of the squad, the need to re-audition every year and potentially take a second job serve as major barriers to entry.