You’re halfway through the week – you can do it!

We’re channeling our inner cheerleader to put extra pep in your step and bring you today’s Rundown.

We’ve got spirit yes we do,

The Last Night’s Game Team

In the NFL, cheerleaders make on average $9/hour or $100-150 per game. In case you were wondering what other key players in a game make, the NFL rookie minimum salary is $435,000 and the average pay for concession workers is $10-14/hour. Many cheerleaders have a flexible job that allows them to maintain the vigorous schedule during the season. Some of them are teachers, nurses or full-time students.
The women are required to maintain a certain look (think hair color, makeup, no weight gain) with fear that they can be benched without pay if any facet of the contract is violated. Some team’s cheer coaches conduct “jiggle tests” to assess the firmness of the cheerleader's bodies.
The NFL’s most famous pom-pom wielding gals, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, have a vigorous application process that includes a written test with questions like “Who is the leader of North Korea? How many yards are assessed for a personal foul penalty?”
A former Oakland Raiders cheerleader sued the team because she and her fellow cheerleaders were making an equivalent of $5/hour. She won her suit and the conversation around unfair wages for cheerleaders began. Many team are now paying their cheerleaders more in line with their state’s minimum wage, including the Raiders who upped the hourly rate to $9/hour (Jan 2015).
There are six NFL teams without cheerleaders - Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers.

Extra credit: This video is guaranteed to make you smile. Lots of team’s cheerleaders dressed up for Halloween (think sexy pilot or sassy cowgirl). Romi Bean of the Denver Broncos cheer team took it to a whole new, awesome level dressing up like a T-Rex. Yep. Then she absolutely nailed her dance routine – with little T-rex arms and pom-poms. Like a boss.

What controversy? Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is set to return from an injury but his replacement Dak Prescott has killing it on the field. (Something Romo hasn’t done in a long time). Romo said he is in full support of the rookie keeping the starting job. Prescott has lead the Cowboys to a stellar record with only one loss. (The name Tony Romo might sound familiar because he used to date Jessica Simpson).

Rough road ahead. Team U.S.A. suffered its second loss in a row in World Cup 2018 qualifying, this time losing to Costa Rica. Qualifying games resume in March 2017 and the U.S. has a big hole to dig themselves out of to make it to the World Cup in Russia. Who wants to go to Russia anyway?

This weekend while fans rushed the field, Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard threw his helmet into the air to celebrate his team’s win over the Michigan Wolverines, only to lose his helmet in the chaos. Local authorities finally located his helmet on an Iowa fan who was wearing it around town to the all the bars. One man’s trash is another one’s treasure.

After a weekend full of upsets, the College Football Playoff rankings did a little shuffle Tuesday night. Clemson dropped from #2 to #4 after their loss. Ohio State jumped to #2 and Washington fell out of top four. How does your team rank? Check here.

Former college football star and WWE wrestler turned actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was named People Magazine’s 2016 Sexiest Man Alive.

The Rundown: 5 Things To Know About NFL Cheerleaders

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