A former San Francisco 49ers cheerleader has sued the NFL for suppressing her wages.
The woman, who has asked not to be named, filed a complaint against the league and its member teams just days before the Super Bowl claiming they conspired to keep cheerleaders’ pay low across the board.
She was a member of the team’s Gold Rush squad between 2013 and 2014.
The class action lawsuit claims cheerleaders are paid between $90 and £125 per game, receiving a lump sum at the end of the season which often incurs fines.
‘The cheerleading life looks quite glamorous but once you see the number that’s attached to that, it’s not what you would think at all,’ the woman said on Good Morning America.
It alleges that while players collectively receive billions of dollars per year, cheerleaders are regularly not paid for practice or events and even have to pay the teams themselves to try out for spots on the squad.
While paid dancers typically receive a minimum of $26,000 a year based on average appearance rates, cheerleaders only earn around $1,250 per season, it said.
The women were told by their teams not to discuss what they earned which further stifled earning growth, the lawsuit said.
Lawyer Drexel Bradshaw described the wages as a ‘national scandal’.
‘The free market and legal systems are supposed to protect women as much as men. Here, they failed by not allowing the women to compete, to cheer on different teams, to work for the highest bidder.
‘They are not even allowed to discuss what they are earning,’ he told DailyMail.com.
The former 49ers cheerleader is suing the league for up to $300million on behalf of all cheerleaders across its 32 teams.
Referring to them as ‘female athletes’, the lawsuit describes how the NFL requires member teams to register the contracts of all non-player employees.
By doing so, the league wins an across-the-board view of what staff are earning. The lawsuit alleges that bosses have used this method of gathering information to collude with teams to keep the cheerleaders’ rates low.
This kills competitive salaries between teams and stops non-NFL teams from poaching the dancers, the suit alleges.
‘Without knowledge or consent of employees, Defendant NFL Member Teams owners and senior executives entered into an agreement or series of agreements to eliminate competition among them for skilled labor as ‘cheerleaders’.
‘By requiring Defendant NFL Member teams to file with Defendant NFL all written employment contracts with all non-player employees of member teams.
‘This requirement served as a check-and-balance and allowed Defendant NFL and Defendant NFL Member Teams to ensure the conspiracy among teams to suppress female athlete earnings.’
While the NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry, its teams’ cheerleaders are paid less than hired dancers who appear in music videos or live shows.
The suit claims even mascots are paid more than them, with some earning up to $65,000.
One of the teams includes is the Oakland Raiders which previously paid two cheerleaders $125million after being sued for underpaying.
Cheerleader Caitlin Yates, who is supporting the 49ers cheerleader’s lawsuit as a member of the class it is suing the NFL on behalf, previously launched legal action against the team.
An NFL spokesman told DailyMail.com it hadn’t yet seen the lawsuit and had no comment.
