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Netflix's 'America's Sweethearts' Drives Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Brand Boom
The Netflix docuseries has widened the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' global following, drawing fresh fashion and beauty tie-ups. The women who built that audience do not directly share in the resulting sponsorship money.
Sally Beauty unveiled its first partnership with a professional football franchise this week, becoming the official beauty retailer of the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Abercrombie & Fitch also widened an existing Cowboys and DCCs deal to cover more products, athlete styling and activations running year-round.
As part of that expanded tie-up, Abercrombie is installing a branded closet inside the cheerleaders' locker room at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the team's practice and headquarters complex.
The viewership behind the interest is quantifiable. The first season of "America's Sweethearts" pulled 2.3 million views globally in its first four days before climbing to 3.7 million the following week. Season three debuted at No. 4 on Netflix's global English-language TV chart in June, notching 3.2 million views over its first six days.
Megan McElaney, a former group leader for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, said the shift since the series aired has been mainly in perception. She noted the squad already carried strong recognition before the show, but Netflix brought the group to a far larger worldwide audience and gave viewers a closer connection to the individuals behind the uniform. She added that the cheerleaders are now recognized more as athletes and that more brands valuing their work have approached them.
Even so, the cheerleaders do not necessarily take a direct share of the sponsorship revenue generated by the attention their visibility creates, according to the source material.