The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were already a sports institution before Netflix arrived after “America’s Sweethearts” changed was the audience around them — and the commercial opportunities that followed.
The series gave viewers a closer look at the women behind one of the NFL’s most recognizable uniforms, and former DCC group leader Megan McElaney said that shift has changed how the squad is perceived.
“Before the show,” McElaney said. “There was already a strong level of recognition around the Cowboys Cheerleaders.
“But Netflix introduced the DCCs to a much larger global audience and gave people a deeper connection to the women behind the uniforms.
“We’ve been recognized more as athletes and have seen more brands reach out that value the work we do.”
The scale of that exposure is mammoth as the first season drew 2.3 million global views in its opening four days before climbing to 3.7 million the following week, while season three debuted at No. 4 on Netflix’s global English-language TV chart.
Brands now see the DCC as more than a football property and the response from fashion and beauty companies has been immediate as Sally Beauty has become the official beauty retailer of the Cowboys and DCC.
Abercrombie & Fitch expanded its relationship to include more merchandise, styling and year-round activations, also installing a branded closet inside the DCC locker room at The Star, with products refreshed monthly for the cheerleaders’ off-field wardrobes.
Sally Beauty plans to use DCC content, appearances and product demonstrations to show customers how to recreate the squad’s game-day hair and nail looks as interest grows.
And Peter Carton, SMU’s executive director of sport industry engagement and partnerships, said that is where the DCC offers something different from the football team itself.
“The Cowboys give brands enormous reach,” Carton said. “But the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders give them something different: an authentic bridge from sports into fashion, beauty, entertainment and lifestyle.”
The commercial boom comes with a bigger question
NFL fashion and beauty sponsorship spending rose 16.9% year over year to $58 million in the 2025-26 season, while the Cowboys generated more than $8 million in category sponsorship spending during 2025.
The DCC also carries a social audience larger than that of 12 NFL teams. Yet increased value at the team level does not necessarily mean the individual cheerleaders automatically benefit financially.
“A team-level partnership can create more exposure and opportunities for the cheerleaders,” McElaney added. “But that doesn’t automatically mean an individual cheerleader receives compensation from that partnership.”
She noted that some partnerships can still provide meaningful benefits, whether through products or separate paid content opportunities.
The next stage is now whether sponsors can turn the popularity into measurable sales but McElaney believes the women themselves should remain central to that growth.
“The most valuable partnerships would be ones where the women themselves are meaningfully included,” McElaney continued. “Not just used as part of the visual identity of the brand.”
Netflix helped make the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders more commercially powerful, but attention turns now to the question of how much of that value reaches the women who helped create it.
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