Bustle Exclusive
Jada Teases A Career Pivot After Leaving The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
She said goodbye to the team in Season 2, but not before achieving a major victory for future dancers.
Jada McLean is one of several veteran teammates who said goodbye to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders at the end of the 2024-2025 NFL season. As she tells Kelli Finglass and Judy Trammell — the team’s director and head choreographer, respectively — in Season 2 of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (out June 18), “I’m at a place where I need to see what’s next in life. And I feel like I want to leave on a high.”
And that, she did. Throughout the season, Jada and several of her teammates worked together to make the case for improved wages, and in the Season 2 finale, it’s revealed that the team was awarded a 400% increase.
“Hopefully, in the future, that’ll just be a discussion that continues to get better and better,” Jada tells Bustle. “But for the progress made in one season, I think it’s something that we’re all very proud of.”
While Jada won’t be on the team next season to experience the raise herself, she’s proud to be part of the change and excited to see what comes next. Here’s where Jada from the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders is after America’s Sweethearts Season 2.
A Meaningful Break
First on the agenda for Jada? Family time. “I think we’ve had work every Thanksgiving for the last five years, and then a few Christmases, or right around Christmas time, where we’re asking our families to come to Dallas to see us,” she says. “So I’m excited to go home and just hang out with the people that I love the most, and just soak up those little moments, [like] my niece’s birthday parties, and just the little things that you don’t realize that we’re sacrificing being a part of this team.”
Jada’s Next Chapter
Career-wise, Jada says, “I’ve thought about going into modeling. That’s something that I think, now that my dance career is kind of ending, I can focus more on [that]. I have never been able to give that a second thought. So it’s exciting to think about what may be next.”
As seen on America’s Sweethearts, Jada juggled several jobs during her time with the Cowboys. In Season 2, she worked as a cosmetic associate at a dermatology practice, but, she tells Bustle, she’s also worked at a dental office, and been a personal assistant and nanny at various points. “I’ve done quite a bit, and honestly, it just comes down to what’s going to work the best with my DCC schedule, and who’s going to be understanding and accommodating [of the] time I need off,” she says.
After Jada and her teammates shined a light on the challenges of working two (or more) jobs while cheering for the Cowboys, the new pay raise seems to mark a positive step toward a more sustainable lifestyle for future dancers.
