Top 5 NFL Cheer Teams: Pom’s and Perfection
By: Ella Embry
The NFL is a cut throat, highly competitive organization within the football realm. Any football player's dream is to eventually make it to the NFL. The dream of going pro. That goal requires incredible work ethic, motivation and preparation. These same goals align with dancers that soon hope to make it to the NFL as well…just on the sidelines. The beauty and heart of the football teams, engaging halftime performances and public appearances. The NFL cheerleaders. Throughout this review, I will be ranking the Top 5 NFL Cheerleading teams and cracking down on a concise list of criteria. I will be ranking them based on their practice schedules, tryout processes, field performances and outside engagement with the public. I am a highly qualified professional myself (Jenks Varsity Pom dancer), so you can trust my opinion as I say I am more than cut out to be ranking these teams. So, let’s jump right in.
The Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders, Photo Creds: The Philadelphia Tribune
#5. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES CHEERLEADERS
First and foremost, we have the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders. The Eagles have a great track record of making it far in the football season so the girls are always occupied. As far as ranking them in this review, I give them spot #5 simply because their practices and overall style don’t compare to the rest.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Eagles practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7pm to 10pm. For a professional cheer team, two practices in my opinion is not enough. If you are getting paid to dance for an NFL team, the goal is to be the best of the best. High school teams, like myself, practice longer than that.
TRYOUTS: Surprisingly, their tryouts last for a while. The entire process takes around four weeks and is followed by weekly elimination rounds until they have narrowed down which girls will make the new team. It’s harsh but it’s effective and highly competitive.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES: The Eagles make around 350 yearly public appearances. As this may seem like a lot, it’s all compensated for their time and effort. The girls make $22,500 annually and receive $50-$75 per appearance.
The Philadelphia Eagles are a great dance team within the NFL. Their tryout process being so thorough eases my nerves as to why they only practice twice a week. Either way, each girl is talented and deserves a spot on that team for a reason.
The Houston Texans Cheerleaders, Photo Creds: HoustonTexans.com
#4. HOUSTON TEXANS CHEERLEADERS
Next up, we have the Houston Texans Cheerleaders. The Texans are known for their cute uniforms and unique choreography on Sunday Night Football. They are widely known in the dance world and earn top 5 for best NFL cheerleading teams.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
The Houston Texans Cheerleaders practice on average 10-12 hours weekly. This is the type of practice I love to see within the NFL and professional teams because they are constantly working. They typically practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm to 10:30pm.
TRYOUTS:
Their tryouts consist of a week-long process in which you enroll and are added to the waitlist. If a girl doesn’t meet the qualifications, she is eliminated and a new opportunity is given. In my opinion, I think this is a perfect amount of time for tryouts. It’s not too long, not too short and allows the girls to not overstress.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
The Texans make around 50 public appearances a year. Although it’s less than most NFL teams, their practice schedule on top of games is already intense enough. The girls make around $19-35 per hour as a weekly salary.
The Houston Texans put in the work and put in the effort to be good. I definitely think they are a great team that represents what hard work and dedication gets you.
The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders, Photo Creds: DenverBroncos.com
#3. DENVER BRONCOS CHEERLEADERS
Coming in at number 3, we have the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders. The Broncos are known for their large white poms and bright orange game day tops. They are always on their A game and it shows during halftime.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
The Broncos practice twice a week. Now, I know what you're thinking. Why did I rank the Texans at #4 if the Broncos practice less than them? Here's the catch. The Broncos require you to have at least 10+ years of dance experience. This is very uncommon in the dance world to have such a large prerequisite. This means that it’s very difficult to walk on the team.
TRYOUTS:
As for tryouts, the process lasts two whole months. The first round consists of zoom interviews and is then led by dance instruction. The two months is to see if the girls can keep up with a day to day schedule that the Broncos would be facing. Ideally, I like this concept so that you know what you are getting into.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
The Broncos attend 1,000+ hours of community and charity held events. This is insane especially for an NFL cheer team as the girls already have personal lives and day jobs to manage with. Fortunately for them, the pay is worth it. Each girl gets paid a salary of $21.50 an hour. That totals to $44,720 annually.
The Denver Broncos are not only a great NFL cheer team but highly trained individual dancers. They could each have a career in dance and go far after their time in the NFL. Definitely a top 3 team for sure.
The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders, Photo Creds: MiamiDolphins.com
#2. MIAMI DOLPHINS CHEERLEADERS
Second, we have the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders. These girls not only get cute uniforms and play for a great team but get to live their best life in Miami. The beach and sun definitely add to the benefits of being a cheerleader for the Dolphins.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
The Dolphins practice five times per week. As there isn’t a large prerequisite to make the team, it makes sense as to why they have such an intense practice schedule. This means that you really have to make the commitment and jump to be on this team as you are still maintaining a job outside.
TRYOUTS:
The tryout process for the Dolphins consists of one week. As I’ve previously stated, I still believe this is the most adequate time to prepare and showcase what you have to offer. Each day of the week, girls are eliminated to narrow down to the final team.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
The Dolphins commit to 400 public appearances per season. The best part about these events is that they are compensated. Each girl gets paid $50-75 per appearance and that’s not including their $150 they make per game. The Miami Dolphins are definitely taken care of when it comes to salary.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to rank the top 2 NFL cheer teams as they both showcase such talent. The Miami Dolphins have great dedication to their craft and you can tell on and off the field how much they love their job.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Photo Creds: DallasCowboysCheerleaders.com
#1. DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS
Finally, we have the famous and iconic Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have always been a fan favorite amongst the fandom of football. A recent Netflix documentary that was released this year, detailed the behind the scenes process of selecting the team. It quickly soared across the nation and regained the Cowboys popularity again.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE: As for practice, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have quite the agenda. During the off season, there are at least two to five mandatory practices required. It totals to around 20 hours per week.
TRYOUTS: The Cowboys are most notable for their lengthy and EXTREMELY detailed tryout selection. The process takes around three months and ten weeks total. To put into perspective, the Dallas Cowboys football team training camp is only three weeks. They take their time individually discussing and selecting each squad member.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES: The Cowboys are famous for their highly intricate routines including their most famous “Thunderstruck” routine. This goes without show that their services are required in places other than the field. The girls spend around 1,000 hours per season donating their time to charity and public events. Each girl gets paid $500 per game with a yearly salary of $75,000 so anytime spent off the field is their own.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders lead the pack of NFL cheerleading. They set the standard and have been doing so for many generations. It’s hard to find flaws and mistakes with this team and it goes to show when the Cowboys play. Next time you find yourself watching a Cowboys game, take the time to appreciate and recognize the hard work from the girls in the white boots.
Overall, each NFL team should be grateful that they have such strong and motivated cheerleading teams on the sidelines. Not only are they each individually gifted and supportive, they LOVE what they do. If you don’t love it, you wouldn’t be there. The NFL cheer teams are a whole other ball game, literally. They are who little girls dream of being. If you are interested in learning more about NFL cheer teams or the ones I ranked, check out their instagrams below. @denverbroncoscheer @dccheerleaders @texanscheerleaders @philadelphiacheerleaders @dolphinscheer
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