Fans Shocked To Learn Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleaders Have Day Jobs

The Kansas City Chiefs cheerleading squad posted a reel on Instagram Sunday revealing their day jobs, and fans were shocked to learn that such high-profile athletes would also need extra work.

The video — which garnered over 4 million views in three days — shows members of the cheerleading squad practicing various stunts with a text overlay: “POV: You’re at work but you’re also an NFL cheerleader and have practice tonight.” As individual cheerleaders show off their moves, each of their jobs is listed: a registered nurse, a marketing account executive, a law student, a middle school English teacher, a civil engineer and more.

“This is cool, but also, the NFL is a billion dollar industry and they don’t pay the cheerleaders enough money,” read one comment on the video, with more than 26,000 likes.

“This isn’t the flex you think it is. You’re telling us you don’t pay your cheerleaders shit,” another comment reads, with more than 22,000 likes.

NFL cheerleaders often don’t make a full-time-equivalent wage, forcing them to maintain another job or go to school. Their pay can vary from team to team, and solid wage information is often sourced from lawsuits and public complaints, but some NFL cheerleaders say they’ve made as little as $1,250 per season over the years.

Mhkeeba Pate, host of the Pro Cheerleading Podcast, conducted a survey where cheerleaders could voluntarily submit their team’s pay. According to Pate’s study, one NFL team pays their cheerleaders as much as $500 per game. Still, most game days are at least eight-hour days.

“It’s such a layered conversation but it’s simple in my mind — yes, we’re proud of the careers they hold outside of cheering but yes, they should absolutely be paid more for what they do as