Cheerleaders bringing in cash for NFL teams

This year’s Super Bowl features the Green Bay Packers against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there will be no cheerleaders. The Packers and the Steelers are just two of six teams (along with the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears) that don’t field a pom-pom waving squad.

Although their seasons are over, cheerleaders are an important part of the NFL off-season for the 26 teams that do have them. Why? Because, when executed well, they provide endless clicks for Web surfing fans and additional revenue in appearances (teams usually charge between $100 and $500 per hour per cheerleader) and swimsuit calendar revenue.

In fact, with plenty of women to audition and money to be had (most cheerleaders make less than $100 a game), the number of cheerleaders has increased exponentially in recent years.

In 2010, 15 teams each dressed more than 30 cheerleaders for games and have found ways, especially online, to generate revenue from their top squads. However, as valuations go, NFL teams are hesitant to put a dollar figure on their cheerleading squads, but the use of these cheerleaders as a vehicle for marketing is certainly in the public eye.

You probably expected to find the Dallas Cowboys on the top of this list, but no team has a more extensive of a library of cheerleader photos than the Indianapolis Colts. You can sort through over 2,000 shots that not only can be looked at, but also ordered. No other team in the league allows fans to do that.

The Colts are also the only team in the league to post a photo gallery of some of the favorites to join the squad next season. Fans can look at 65 candidates for the team and vote for who they think should join the team next.

Here is the ranking of the top teams that take the most monetary advantage of their cheerleaders.