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" The NFL split\u00A0$7.2 billion in revenue among its teams for the 2014 fiscal year.\u00A0That\u00A0means\u00A0each team\u00A0got $226.4 million,\u00A0in addition to the\u00A0tens or hundreds of millions teams make on their own.\u00A0And yet their cheerleaders earn a pittance. According to The New York Times, Lacy Thibodeaux, a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders, made just $125 per game as part of the Raiderette\u00A0squad.\u00A0&amp;quot;Your contract states that you&amp;#039;re not allowed to talk about your money,&amp;quot; she told the Times. &amp;quot;They think it&amp;#039;s a joke, &amp;#039;Oh, these little cheerleaders.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;  During the 2013-2014 season\u2014the most recent season Thibodeaux worked\u2014the Raiders played 16 regular season games, terribly. They finished 4-12, failing to make the playoffs. It was, however, her dream job\u2014or so she thought. According to the Times: She took long drives to Napa Valley for the calendar photo shoot. She invested, as directed, in expensive hair colorings. Practices stretched for hours. She made 10 required appearances at sponsor events.  But they never paid her travel expenses, mandatory promotional events, or calendar shoots.\u00A0 &amp;quot;My contract was highly illegal,&amp;quot; she said.\u00A0 A spokesman for the Raiders didn&amp;#039;t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.\u00A0 Thibodeaux now lives in London with her husband and kids, the Times reports. But she&amp;#039;s part of a growing chorus of current and former NFL cheerleaders calling out NFL teams for how they\u00A0pay\u00A0cheerleaders and demanding equitable treatment from a league that awarded its commissioner, Roger Goodell, $44 million in compensation in 2013.  Dozens of Raiderettes, for instance, received a $1.25 million settlement last year after filing a lawsuit, according to ESPN. And Thibodeaux, the Times said, was among two Raiderettes to successfully sue the team and force it to pay minimum wage. \u00A0The Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have all faced lawsuits from cheerleaders. Thibodeaux&amp;#039;s story is far from the worst example. A Buffalo Bills cheerleader\u2014a member of the Buffalo Jills\u2014told Cosmopolitan that she worked 840 hours during the year she was with the squad, but was paid just $105, or roughly 12 cents an hour. The situation could be improving, though. California passed a law this summer giving cheerleaders basic benefits like minimum wage\u00A0and sick leave. A similar law is pending in New York state. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/sports/news/a37781/nfl-cheerleaders-earnings/>