@dailymailsportusa: NFL fans are seeing the financial realities of the league's cheerleaders after one shared insight into her double life on social media. Ann-Marie Muscarello is part of the Denver Broncos cheerleading squad, preparing for the start of the new 2026 season. But her commitments on the team are balanced by her day job as a registered nurse. She shared a social media post captioned: 'Sunday mornings vs. Monday mornings look a little different.' She showcased the contrast between her cheerleading work at the weekend and her life in healthcare during the week, much to the surprise of many fans, who took to the comments section admiring her and questioning why NFL cheerleaders are not paid more. The post laid bare the realities of chasing the dream of being an NFL cheerleader on top of normal life. Ann-Marie is listed as a third-year member of the Broncos cheer team on their website. Her teammates have a number of different occupations including a speech and language pathologist, kindergarten teacher, commercial real estate broker and many more. Broncos cheerleaders are hired as part-time employees and paid competitive wages, per the New York Post. Cheerleaders around the league are independent contractors meaning their pay differs between franchises. But their relatively low pay has been widely reported, with the Associated Press claiming in 2015 that cheer squads made less than fast food workers while a Jets cheerleader sued the team in 2014 over a $3.77 hourly rate. It is widely reported that cheerleaders are generally paid an hourly rate then a flat fee for game days, reported to be an average of $150 per game. Other appearances often pay around $50-$75 in a flat rate, and estimates have said it all adds up to around $22,500 per year. For context, an average registered nurse takes in about $97,550 per year. The Netflix documentary series 'America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' put the issue of their pay back into the spotlight. Ahead of season two, the squad secured a massive pay increase as they cashed-in on the show's popularity. Four-year veteran Megan McElaney broke the news on camera. 'Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise,' she said. 'And we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is like, life-changing.' But for cheerleaders across the league, working a normal job then balancing cheer commitments on top is part of the sacrifice of being on the sidelines when the new season rolls around. #nflcheerleaders #nfl #denverbroncos #nurse #doublelife
Daily Mail Sport USA
Region: US
Wednesday 09 September 2026 17:41:53 GMT
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Vince Lombardi :
Cheerleading is more a hobby that you get paid for
2026-09-09 18:08:36
36957
ꪖꪶꪶⅈડꪮꪀ :
the fact we are saying a cheerleader needs to be paid more and not nurses....
2026-09-10 15:40:11
11528
applesaucesy :
The misogyny in the comments is vile by the way. Women deserve to be paid equally, period.
2026-09-09 21:42:37
5889
Aimee B📲 :
Y’all are acting like she isn’t also a professional athlete and should be paid as such
2026-09-09 21:35:00
1793
romeosdelight14 :
Cheerleader was never meant to be a full time job. Why are people surprised?
2026-09-09 23:22:18
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user3307325916394 :
"It's a part time job"
So is a football player then by that standard. Both train throughout the week and in the off season. they're not just there 3 hours a week.
2026-11-05 12:54:55
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The2Cents32 :
I mean they shouldn’t get paid a lot
2026-09-10 09:25:13
30
Maddox;) :
Unpopular opinion allll athletes should be only 100,000 and that’s only if you are a star player and you should be paid less if your on the bench
2026-09-09 20:48:39
12
k.harbzz :
these comments are annoying lol
2026-09-09 19:58:22
286
Savannah Jacobson :
I mean…..it’s not like some of the players they cheer for are making 13 million/year 😒 the fact they’re not even paid enough to have that as their only job is insane.
2026-09-10 00:46:19
28
Juan Solo :
okay so from a business perspective. how much money does the dance/cheer team bring in to the team? can it be measured? I won't disrespect it by calling it a hobby. you have to work hard for what they do. the fact is if they are more than likely paid based on what their value is to the organization. they're not the main event.
2026-09-10 06:54:59
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cz5 :
Absolutely nobody is forcing them to do it btw
2026-09-10 04:43:35
11
No time to sleep :
It’s a hobby that brings in no money
2026-09-10 16:35:34
12
Kim :
Maybe she doesn’t need cheerleading for money. Maybe she just likes cheerleading and being in that atmosphere.
2026-09-11 07:37:01
16
💜☔️Kaki ☔️💜 :
Cheerleaders are elite trained dancers and athletes. Also incredible entertainers. 👏 Please pay them fairly.
2026-09-11 05:20:04
34
monica 🕸️🖤 :
Mind you everyone knows the cheerleaders and rarely talks about the team
2026-11-05 12:03:47
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MercyMK :
So annoying, if cheerleading isn’t that important why are there so many at every single game
2026-09-09 22:04:47
6
Oklahooper🎪 :
they have insane regulations on their body and appearance the entire season. what they are paid is basically nothing after all the personal care they have to do.
2026-09-10 17:31:23
54
𝒥ℯ𝓃𝓃𝒾𝒻ℯ𝓇 | 𝚝𝚝𝚜🪄🛍️ :
I remember being a server for a cheerleader event & the next event I worked, a cheerleader from the previous event was working as a server w me🧐
2026-09-09 22:46:09
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Sav :
I mean yeah she in no world deserves to only cheer and be ok financially..
2026-09-11 16:14:06
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xxJoeyIslandxx :
They only work 8-9 games a year lol, if it was a year round job they’d make more
2026-09-09 19:41:27
446
Jay :
here we fucking go. I'm guessing they want to get paid like the start qb now??
2026-09-09 23:52:59
246
 :
Ngl cheerleaders should be making a livable wage without need for a second job
2026-09-09 21:34:09
206
Na :
How much do yall expect them to make?
2026-09-10 12:02:18
7
Leroy Jenkins :
Because it's more like a hobby than a career
2026-09-09 22:38:01
58
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