10 Crazy-Specific Rules Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Must Follow

Being a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader is one of the most high-profile off-field jobs in all of professional sports. The iconic uniforms, the backing of one of the most followed NFL teams in the country, and the throngs of cheering fans at games and events all make it so. The Cowboys’ cheerleaders are undoubtedly the most legendary ones in all of professional football in the United States.

Because of that, it’s incredibly difficult for aspiring members to gain access to the squad. They have to jump through a million hoops to prove that they are good enough to be part of the cheerleading organization. And no, we’re not just talking about their auditions, either. As it turns out, there are a ton of very specific rules that all Cowboys cheerleaders (and even aspiring cheerleaders who haven’t made the squad yet!) are expected to follow. Let’s take a look at ten of the most specific ones in this list!

Related: Top 10 People Who Changed The World By Breaking The Rules

10 Rules Before Even Joining Up

There are, as you might expect, some pretty specific rules for hopefuls before they even sign up. For one, they must be at least 18 years old. Interestingly, there is no upper age limit, so if you can flaunt it at 50… go for it! There are audition prep classes to be had, too, and while those aren’t mandatory, it probably helps to go to some. You know, grease the wheels and meet your potential coaches and all that.

In addition to that, every prospective dancer must submit a headshot, a full-length body photo, a 20-second video introducing themselves to the decision-makers, and another video of themselves dancing. Naturally, this weeds out a ton of people. Judges and team leaders pick the best several dozen who they think might have a shot to make the team, and invite them in for in-person auditions.

When the auditions come into play, prospective cheerleaders must follow a ton of requirements. They have to dance while being judged on technique, splits, high kicks, showmanship, personal appearance, enthusiasm, poise, figure and shape, and personality. And yes, the splits are mandatory. One of the most specific rules on the DCC’s website states that all cheerleaders must be flexible enough to be able to perform them. Don’t apply if you don’t have strong hamstrings!

By the way, there is one more rule to the whole preliminary process that might seem unimportant but is actually critical: Cowboys cheerleaders must display a significant working knowledge of the history of Dallas Cowboys football. They need to know all about Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Tom Landry, Barry Switzer, and all the rest. Otherwise, they can’t join the squad. Somewhere, Hank Hill is smiling about that rule…^[1]

9 Attend All Rehearsals… Duh!

The biggest and most important rule facing DCC members early on is to attend every single rehearsal leading up to the season. Sounds obvious, right? But there are quite a few commitments, including nightly rehearsals every evening as well as extra weekend practices for the Show Group—the squad’s elite dozen cheerleaders who do special events. If a candidate misses even one of those rehearsals, they are nixed from the roster. As the cheerleading squad’s website states, “total commitment is required!”

The total commitment line has long been a part of the DCC experience. In the squad’s early days, past members recalled how they simply couldn’t miss a single practice all year long, for any reason at all, lest they be booted from the squad. And when they got to practices (and Cowboys games), there were a few other notable rules in place too. Those included the requirement to never show up at a rehearsal without your hair and makeup done, and never to show up wearing a wedding ring—especially on game day. After all, these women had to sell the fantasy, right?^[2]

8 Maintain Your Figure or Else

Once one becomes a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, they can’t gain weight. Ever. It is expected that every DCC member will perfectly maintain their figure once they are on the squad. Team leaders expect specifically that cheerleaders will “look well-proportioned in dancewear” while performing and at events. Furthermore, according to a New York Times exposé covering the crew, squad leaders in the past were known to “circle cheerleaders’ body parts in photos to show where they needed to trim down.” Brutally honest, indeed.

One former cheerleader even explained that squad leaders had a specific rule when it came to cheerleaders’ uniforms: they would take the short shorts in if the cheerleader got smaller and needed their outfits to tighten up, but they would never, under any circumstances, take them out. In the past, DCC even had an infamous “Weight List,” on which girls had to log their weight and acknowledge the problem areas of their bodies. That has been dismantled, thankfully, but the pressure is still there.

During the DCC’s hit 2024 Netflix series, one veteran cheerleader explained how the modern rule book can be just as unforgiving as the past: “You don’t get a new uniform. Once you’re fitted for that uniform, that size is the size that you get. You don’t get to go up. If you go up, they’re like, ‘Why does this not fit you?’” ^[3]

7 Wear Your Hair Down at All Times

At games and even during rehearsals, DCC cheerleaders are expected to wear their hair down at all times. It can never be in a bun, or even a ponytail—it must always be flowing. And yes, that rule is true even in rehearsals when nobody else is looking. That’s critical for a lot of reasons, chief among them the fact that many of the squad’s dances have what they call “hairography.” Think of that as choreography, but for hair. With their hair down for the performances, they can bounce and bob and attract all kinds of attention that wouldn’t happen if it were tied back.

Interestingly, there is no length requirement for their hairstyles. While the squad’s leaders don’t want to see members with hair that is much too short, somewhat shorter hairstyles are acceptable. It really comes down to how much the hair bobs and bounces while dancing. If a girl’s hair has buoyancy and movement, she’s in.

Of course, it’s not cheap to keep all that hair looking good at all times. And that’s why the DCC squad has its own official salon partner in Dallas—a spot called Tangerine. The girls go there regularly during the year to ensure that their hairstyles are current, bouncy, and never hide their faces in any way.^[4]

6 A Very Specific Makeup Style

It isn’t enough to be constantly made up as a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. No, you have to do your makeup in a very specific way, and keep it like that for as long as you serve your time on the team. The leadership of that organization has described their girls’ look as “wholesome.” And they strongly favor a natural aesthetic—so even while the women are very heavily made up in some cases, it can’t appear that the makeup is over the top.

During auditions, dancers are required to “wear shades that complement your natural beauty.” That way, judges can see just how pretty each potential cheerleader really is as they perform. Then, they are given other highly specific guidelines. Those include a strong preference for matte eyeshadows rather than anything sparkly. A little shimmer is OK, but nothing too glittery can be applied. Dancers must then show a “vibrant yet neutral cheek,” as well as two other major requirements: once on the squad, they are not allowed to ever wear red lipstick or red fingernail polish.

Finally, long fake eyelashes are to be avoided. And the DCC brass has complete control over the tanning done by cheerleaders. Dancers are required to avoid orange tones and are told not to overuse contouring, bleaching, or highlighting their skin in any manner. To exert control over that part of their world, the DCC has memberships for all its girls at Palm Beach Tan and Planet Tan in Dallas.^[5]

5 Give Your Uniform Back…

Obviously, DCC gives out basic uniforms and gear to its cheerleaders every season. But you can’t take your uniform with you at the end of the year. Girls who were hoping to be able to frame their uniform, keep it in their closet for the rest of their lives, or use it to boast about the achievement they’d earned in their dance days are in for a rude awakening. Every single piece of the official DCC uniform must be returned to the squad at the end of the year. For rookies and veterans alike, there are no exceptions to that rule.

The policy is iron-clad because of past image-control controversies. DCC leaders are adamant that an issue like that will never happen again. So, uniforms go back to the team with no exceptions made and no questions asked.^[6]

4 But Hosiery Is Yours to Bring & Keep

Interestingly, there is one piece of the uniform that cheerleaders are expected to keep for themselves. And that’s because they are the ones supplying it for themselves! That’s right, we’re talking about hosiery. Even though it is a very visible part of the DCC uniform when the girls are out on the field, it’s not something that the squad hands out and tracks. Instead, they expect each woman to supply her own hosiery based on skin tone and how she looks in the uniform.

Obviously, the squad’s captains and team officials will weigh in if a girl is using hosiery that they believe differs slightly from her skin tone. But since each dancer’s skin is unique compared to the others, there is no blanket expectation for it. Thus, DCC members are on the hook for purchasing and using their own hosiery. But at least they get to take all that with them when they’re done for the season.^[7]

3 Keep Things Clean!

All cheerleaders obviously have to keep things to the utmost of their professional ability at all times. That means that not only do they have to present themselves as cleanly as possible when they are at events and otherwise, but they also have to live a clean life. One former DCC cheerleader who was on the squad in the 1980s, Presley Killmer, recalled how that turned into being perfect both on the field for game day and far away from it in their everyday lives: “On Sundays, we were supposed to be the sexy cheerleaders on the sideline. The rest of the time, we were supposed to be perceived as squeaky clean. High heels, pantyhose, business suits, makeup and hair done, mannerly, good etiquette.”

And it doesn’t stop there. During Killmer’s time, and that of other earlier DCC cheerleaders, a tradition was born that the squad could never be allowed to be seen anywhere close to where alcohol was being served. And it wasn’t just alcohol. Drugs were, of course, banished for any DCC squad member… but also, chewing gum was disallowed. There were a ton of other random rules from back in the day, too: Cowboys cheerleaders weren’t allowed to wear jeans in public during their tenure (too casual), and they couldn’t have their hair done in tight curlers (too goofy).

Now, with tattoos having risen in popularity in the modern age, DCC girls actually aren’t banned from having them. However, no ink is allowed to be visible in their uniforms. So, if they do have (small) tattoos, they must be sure that they can be covered up by the skimpy clothes they wear when they are performing.^[8]

2 NEVER Fraternize with Players

One of the things Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders must never, ever do is fraternize with the players. That rule was first enacted in the 1970s and 1980s, and while it is still in use today, it was a notable departure back then. In earlier years, cheerleaders would be booted from the squad if they were ever seen interacting in any way outside of football activities with players or coaches. Neither the Cowboys franchise nor the DCC squad wanted the headaches that would inevitably arise from those connections.

“Cowboys cheerleaders were off limits,” retired Dallas TV sports reporter Dale Hansen once explained on a podcast about the squad and its relations with players. “I think that only added to the aura of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which separated them from a lot of other cheerleader groups around the country.” Of course, the rule about cheerleaders being kicked off the squad for fraternizing with players only ever went one way; if the football stars were found to be linking up with cheerleaders after hours, nothing happened to them.^[9]

1 Do It All for Surprisingly Little Pay

Even though we’ve just laid out a million rules involving the NFL’s most famous cheerleaders, there is one more that has proven to be a major shortcoming: the pay. In 1977, for example, Cowboys cheerleaders were paid only $15 for each home game at which they cheered. And in modern days, the cheerleaders and the DCC organization don’t reveal what they get paid. But we do know a thing or two about that number based on reporting.

According to the 2024 Netflix show America’s Girls, the women made about $400 on every game day, and another $12 per hour for appearances, rehearsals, practices, and other events. That is… not a lot of money! And it mostly tracked with an NBC Sports report from 2022, which claimed that Cowboys cheerleaders earned around $15 or $20 per hour for every period of work they undertook, plus another $500 per game.

However, after the release of the Netflix series and the public outcry over low pay, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders received a 400% raise in 2025. Their per-game pay increased to about $625, and their hourly rate for other events jumped to $50. While the cheerleaders still don’t make what players do (of course), this new pay scale puts them among the highest-paid cheer squads in the NFL.^[10]