Behind the Glamour
NPB teams maintain dance performance teams like SoftBank's Honeys, Lotte's M☆Splash!!, and DeNA's diana. Behind the glamour, most cheerleaders work under independent contractor agreements rather than employee status, earning 500,000-1,500,000 yen annually, insufficient for living expenses. Most maintain separate jobs alongside their cheerleading duties.
Low Pay and Long Hours
Game days require 6-8 hours at the stadium, with unpaid rehearsals adding to the commitment. Weekly practices of 3-4 sessions are often uncompensated, pushing effective hourly rates below minimum wage. Over 70 home games per season plus events, combined with self-funded fitness maintenance and partial costume costs, create significant hidden expenses. High applicant numbers suppress wage improvement pressure.
Contract Instability
Annual contracts with re-audition requirements and age limits forcing 'graduation' in the late twenties leave no long-term career path. Some teams offer alumni roles as instructors or event coordinators, but systematic second-career support is lacking. Similar issues exist in MLB and NFL, where Oakland Raiders cheerleaders sued over sub-minimum-wage pay in 2014.
Books on sports labor issues are also helpful
Steps Toward Improvement
Some teams have raised compensation and provided transportation allowances. SNS has increased individual cheerleaders' marketing value, prompting reassessment. However, the fundamental independent contractor structure limits labor protections. If cheerleaders are essential to the stadium experience, providing compensation matching their contribution is a matter of corporate social responsibility.
Harassment and Enforced Appearance Standards
Problems facing cheerleaders extend beyond wages. Strict appearance and body-type standards are imposed, with weight management requirements in some cases. Team and sponsor demands can dictate specific hairstyles and makeup, restricting personal freedom. During fan interaction events, cheerleaders may encounter inappropriate contact or remarks, yet as independent contractors they often fall outside workplace harassment protection laws. In the NFL, cheerleader harassment issues surfaced publicly from 2018 onward, with some teams disbanding their squads entirely. NPB likewise needs an institutional framework guaranteeing performer safety, parallel to its player rights protections.
Cheerleaders' Economic Value and Revenue Contribution
Cheerleaders contribute directly to team revenue beyond atmosphere creation. Photo books and calendars generate steady merchandise sales, and members with tens of thousands of social media followers function as public relations and marketing assets. They also bring revenue through event appearances and sponsor partnerships, yet mechanisms to return profits to the cheerleaders themselves are scarce. Contracts typically assign image rights to the team, and followers gained through personal SNS activity remain with the team account upon departure. Contract revision is needed not only from the perspective of fair compensation for labor but also from the standpoint of distributing the economic value cheerleaders generate.
Global Trend Toward Performer Labor Reform in Professional Sports
Improving performer compensation has become an international trend in professional sports. In the United States, the 2014 Oakland Raiders (NFL) lawsuit prompted multiple teams to reclassify cheerleaders as employees, implementing minimum wage compliance and overtime pay. California enacted legislation in 2022 mandating that professional sports cheerleaders be treated as employees rather than independent contractors. In the English Premier League, a growing number of clubs guarantee matchday entertainment staff a living wage. These developments demonstrate that entertainment and labor rights can coexist. Whether NPB will reference these international movements and undertake independent contractor reclassification or establish minimum compensation standards remains a focal point.