Cheerleaders will have chance to turn pro under Varsity Spirit’s new league

Uniform maker Varsity Spirit is starting a professional cheerleading league that promises to pay athletes, joining a crowded niche sports market that already includes softball, volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball, lacrosse, indoor football and more clamoring for both fans’ attention and their dollars.

Pro Cheer League is billed as the first professional cheerleading league for athletes 18 and older designed to give cheerleaders the chance to keep competing after college.

Bill Seely, president of Memphis, Tennessee-based Varsity Spirit, sees plenty of opportunity for all these sports to succeed. The cheer league’s advantage comes from the sport’s growth since the 1970s along with Varsity’s own fan base through its cheerleading, dance team camps, events and shows.

“That’s going to help us really kind of build this out in a way that is sustainable and will continue to grow not just domestically but globally,” Seely said.

Varsity Spirit has had more than 80,000 people attend its events. The Pro Cheer League will try to tap into that fan base by competing the same night of other events starting in January in Indianapolis when competition begins.

Varsity Spirit is a division of Varsity Brands, which has a long connection to Indianapolis. Indy-based graduation products giant Herff Jones acquired Varsity Brands in 2012 and appointed its CEO, Jeff Webb, as its own chief executive. Webb renamed Herff Jones as Varsity Brands, then sold the company to a private equity group for $1.5 billion. Varsity Brands still owns Herff Jones’ yearbook business.

The Pro Cheer League will feature four teams stocked with 30 male and female athletes based in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and San Diego. Teams will be selected from tryouts starting in September led by gym owners. Practice begins in November.

After Indianapolis, four more events are planned in Houston, Atlanta, Anaheim and capped by the championship in Nashville at the end of March or start of April.

Each match will feature three periods of competition with two focusing on cheerleading skills, stunts, basket tosses and tumbling in bracket-style rounds. The final period will feature choreography and music.

“We hope a media deal, which we’re working on right now, will help kind of bridge beyond the existing fan base,” Seely said. “And we’re trying to build something that entertains families, friends and gives everyone just a great show that they want to come out to.”

Best for the cheerleaders will be money for their athleticism. Compensation will include pay, money for travel, lodging and uniforms along with bonuses and prizes.

Seely noted stunt is on track for NCAA championship status for women by spring 2027 after being designated an emerging sport in 2023. The International Olympic Committee recognized cheerleading as a sport in 2021.

They’ve already had interest from would-be competitors from across the U.S. with some from Canada and even a couple from Europe.

“We just felt like it was the right next step for the activity and to really kind of magnify it to help inspire young people to participate in it,” Seely said.