Bucs Cheerleaders Settle Lawsuit
March 7th, 2015
Joe loves the Buccaneers cheerleaders but doesn’t write much about them because for some reason the team neither allows Joe exclusive locker room access to the ladies nor permits Joe to attend their dance practices.
And, for now, no Bucs cheerleaders invite Joe to go clubbing or to share sangria on St. Pete Beach.
That could change, and cheerleader compensation could, too.
The ladies just settled a lawsuit against the Buccaneers, reports TBO.com.
On Friday, it was announced the Bucs had agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying a maximum of $825,000 to set up a fund to reimburse cheerleaders for hours they said they were required to work but for which they weren’t paid.
Based on Joe’s reading of the lawsuit, a group of cheerleaders sought back wages, claiming in the suit they weren’t being paid minimum wage for their required hours and the Bucs were paying them a flat rate of $100 per game. They claimed that wasn’t enough when you factored in mandatory practices, community events, etc.
NFL teams in various cities have had similar conflicts with their cheerleaders.
Joe’s not sure where he stands on this. The ladies do learn the pay and volunteer commitment up front and sign up to do it. So Joe’s not sure how the women were fleeced. But Joe will trust the legal system and investigative process here, just as Joe does with Jameis Winston.
March 7th, 2015 at 9:04 am
I can’t see why they cannot be paid more considering the money we just threw away at our free agent busts the last few years.. surely the glazers could pay our cheerleaders more than $100 a game?
March 7th, 2015 at 9:21 am
The lawyers got paid to the tune of $264,000.
Nothing like those contingency lawsuits….wonder if it was Culpepper-Kurland……now that would be a touch of irony.
March 7th, 2015 at 9:59 am
This is why I leave the cheerleaders alone. They are practically wage slaves.
March 7th, 2015 at 10:24 am
Those ladies do work hard
March 7th, 2015 at 10:30 am
Are they still paying them based on the Culverhouse payscale?
Hooter’s girls make more than that.
March 7th, 2015 at 10:39 am
Joe said:
” The ladies do learn the pay and volunteer commitment up front and sign up to do it. So Joe’s not sure how the women were fleeced.”
I agree 100%. They are adults who sign contracts. IMO, part of the problem is ‘perception’. SOME of these ladies believe that being a cheerleader will give them a chance to marry a ‘rich’ athlete (it is against the rules to ‘fraternize, but the number of athlete/cheerleader marriages make that rule a joke). The other ‘perception’ is that they want a career in front of a camera, and being seen on national TV (millions), as well as local media, will get them that opportunity.
When neither of the above happens, sour grapes is the taste left in their mouth. Human nature.
Notice, I did NOT say ALL the ladies. Many enjoy giving back to the community, exercise, dance, camaraderie, etc. I doubt , seriously, if ALL the cheerleaders were in on that lawsuit.
March 7th, 2015 at 10:41 am
Let them accept tips!
Stadium is not much different from a club in the sense that there is no shortage of drunks with wallets. And nothing opens up a wallet faster than a fine young lady in need.
Gentlemen rise up, help the ladies out.
March 7th, 2015 at 10:46 am
The whole idea of paying the best “talent” on the field – the cheerleaders a slave wage when the players are making millions and the owners hundreds of millions is really not right. You telling me these beautiful women don’t deserve to be paid at least $20-30k per year for all the time and work they put in as well as the joy they bring to many fans? Its a crime I tell ya.
March 7th, 2015 at 11:39 am
Let me make this simple. The cheerleaders are not truly a separate entity from the team. If the team contracted a professional dance company to perform at games and agreed to pay that company that wage, then it is the dance company’s responsibility to pay the dancers for their time, but they are free to charge for other events at will. Being that the team has exclusive control of this dance team, they are not subcontractors abs are employees, which requires the team, by law, to pay them for all their time, including mandatory practices and events, at least the state minimum wage which may or may not be greater than the federal minimum wage). To say “they knew the offer going in to it” is only saying the offer was illegal from the beginning and they accepted it. Didn’t change that the offer doesn’t meet federal or state requirements and is illegal.
March 7th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
The league teams will probably do what Walmart did with their “associates”, give them a dime raise per hour. Meanwhile the Waltons make $445,000 per hour.
March 7th, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Joe complains he’s not allowed in their locker room or dance practices. Probably they got tipped off by Rachel Watson.
March 7th, 2015 at 12:33 pm
BamBamBuc said:
“To say “they knew the offer going in to it” is only saying the offer was illegal from the beginning and they accepted it. Didn’t change that the offer doesn’t meet federal or state requirements and is illegal.”
*IF* the cheerleaders were not hired as ‘subcontractors’, then you are absolutely right. I do not know what kind of ‘contract’ they signed. I know, for a fact, that in ’76 and ’77, the Buccaneers hired people as separate contractors, even though they were at the beck&call of the Bucs for events, practices, and games. If you are wondering if the ‘contractors were well paid… say the word Culverhouse. But we knew going in and thought there was a chance to move into the ‘big time’.
March 7th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
lawyers are leaches.
March 7th, 2015 at 1:11 pm
Bucsfan37
Waltons have the right to make and keep the money they earn. No one owes anyone anything. Start a business go back to school don’t blame success. Success is not a crime. Playing the victim is real productive.
March 7th, 2015 at 4:20 pm
If they didn’t like the deal going in, they shouldn’t have accepted it. I’ve known since I was a kid they didn’t get paid jack. I think they should get paid more going forward, they definitely put in the work, but in no way should be allowed to get back pay. This was the job of some lawyer who decided our PR department would bend over backwards faster than one of those dance routines called for.
March 7th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Know why lawyers are buried 8 feet down after passing instead of the standard 6 feet? Simple, deep down they are good people.
March 7th, 2015 at 5:29 pm
I was always under the impression that the girls got paid extra for appearances. Like the opening of a new store etc… They didn’t do it for the actual pay the Bucs gave them but for the celebrity.
March 8th, 2015 at 3:32 pm
It’s called venture capitalism. Everyone and everything is a commodity in the capitalist system; everyone of us.
At least they receive “something”. I was a musician in the last two years of the Bucs’ Band’s existence in ’88 & ’89. We received free entry to the games and two free tickets; payment enough for this 20 year-old Bucs fan. No, Hugh never even showed his face to us lowly musicians!?!?
The cheerleaders’ real compensation comes in the exposure gained from being a Bucs’ cheerleader.