Buffalo Jills Lawsuit: Wages, Settlement, and Squad Fallout

The Buffalo Jills lawsuit was a wage-theft class action filed in 2014 by former cheerleaders for the Buffalo Bills, who alleged the NFL team and its management companies misclassified them as independent contractors and paid them far below minimum wage. After eight years of litigation in New York State Supreme Court, the case settled in March 2022 for $7.5 million, split between the Buffalo Bills and Cumulus Media. The squad was suspended within days of the filing and has not returned.

What the Cheerleaders Were Paid

The Jills had been the Bills’ official cheerleading squad since 1967. By 2011, day-to-day operations were run by Stejon Productions Corporation, owned by Stephanie Mateczun; before Stejon, a Citadel Broadcasting entity (later part of Cumulus Media) managed the squad.¹ Cheerleaders signed contracts labeling them independent contractors and paying them on a “per-appearance” basis. Those contracts specifically excluded pay for appearances or performances at Bills football games.²

The required workload was substantial. Cheerleaders had to attend all home games, biweekly practices, dance clinics, and between 20 and 35 community or promotional appearances each season from April through December. They also modeled for and sold a swimsuit calendar, sold tickets to an annual golf tournament, and instructed at a cheerleading camp, largely without pay.²¹

Discovery from the 2012–2013 season laid out the math. One cheerleader worked 360.5 hours and was paid for 17.5. Another worked 368.5 hours and was paid for five. A third logged 383 hours and was paid for nine. None of the five cheerleaders whose records were disclosed averaged more than $2.60 per hour.²³¹⁴

The Working Conditions Alleged

The complaint went beyond pay. Cheerleaders were subjected to what management called a “jiggle test,” performing jumping jacks while supervisors watched for areas of the body that moved too much. Those who did not pass were benched.⁵⁴

At an annual golf tournament, cheerleaders were required to wear bikinis and were “auctioned off” to accompany purchasers around the course, including sitting on their laps if golf carts were full. The lawsuit alleged they were subjected to degrading sexual comments and inappropriate touching at these events.⁵⁶ The squad’s rulebook governed hair color changes, nail polish, social media use, and physical fitness standards, and included instructions on feminine hygiene, tampon changes, and how to “properly sip soup.”⁴

Who Was Sued

Two related actions were filed on April 22, 2014, in Erie County. Five former cheerleaders identified by first name and last initial filed a non-representative suit, and former cheerleader Caitlin Ferrari filed a class action on behalf of all current and former Jills going back to April 2008.⁷ Ferrari was represented by Christopher Marlborough of The Marlborough Law Firm and Shane Rowley of Levi & Korsinsky.⁸

The Ferrari action named the National Football League, Buffalo Bills Inc., Citadel Broadcasting Company, Citadel Communications Company, Stephanie Mateczun, and Stejon Productions Corporation as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged the NFL and the Bills “aided and abetted” the other defendants in the misclassification.⁹¹⁰ The legal claims rested on New York labor law: failure to pay minimum wage, misclassification, unlawful wage deductions, failure to reimburse business expenses, and unjust enrichment. The complaint also alleged a harassing work environment driven by the squad’s personal conduct rules.¹¹

Within days of the filing, Mateczun announced that the Jills would suspend all operations “until further notice.” Her attorney, Dennis C. Vacco, said the decision was not punishment but a necessity because the Bills refused to provide financial support to keep the squad running.¹² The suspension affected 35 women just selected for the upcoming season.⁴

How the Courts Ruled

The most consequential rulings all went the plaintiffs’ way. In July 2014, the New York State Supreme Court found that the level of control exercised over the Jills “supports the conclusion that they are not independent contractors but employees.”¹³

On January 4, 2016, Justice Timothy J. Drury certified the case as a class action. He found that the defendants’ own “Code of Conduct” was fatal to their independent-contractor defense: “By definition the defendants could not produce a viable cheerleading squad with independent contractors” given the behavioral and performance requirements the code imposed.⁹ Caitlin Ferrari, Maria Pinzone, Melissa Phillips, and Alyssa Ursin were designated class representatives, with Dolce Panepinto P.C., The Marlborough Law Firm, and Levi & Korsinsky as class counsel. The certified class reached back to April 2008.¹⁰

In May 2017, the Erie County Supreme Court held that the agreements the Jills had signed were unenforceable because they rested on misclassification, and that the cheerleaders were entitled to at least minimum wage for all their work.¹³¹⁴¹⁵

The $7.5 Million Settlement

Shortly before trial, the parties settled in early March 2022. Cumulus Media agreed to pay $4 million and the Buffalo Bills agreed to pay $3.5 million, for a total of $7.5 million.¹⁶ The settlement covered the more than 50 cheerleaders represented in the class.¹⁷

The defendants admitted no wrongdoing and denied the allegations. Cumulus, which had gone through Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the litigation, said that after weighing legal costs and probability of success, settling for a “reduced amount” while clearing the remaining claims was in the company’s “best interests.” Cumulus paid its share in company stock rather than cash.¹⁸ The public record does not disclose how much each individual cheerleader received.

What Happened to the Squad

The Jills never came back. The April 2014 suspension, first announced as temporary, became permanent, and the Bills operated without a cheerleading squad for over a decade. As of late 2025, the Jills had not been reinstated. A new professional cheerleading group called “BFLO Cheer” was established in 2026, though there has been no official confirmation that it will appear on the sidelines at Bills games.¹⁹

Where the Case Fit in the NFL Landscape

The Jills’ suit was one of the largest in a wave of cheerleader wage cases that began in 2014. The Oakland Raiderettes filed what is widely considered the first NFL class action of its kind and settled for $1.25 million. The Cincinnati Ben-Gals settled for $255,000 after evidence showed cheerleaders earned about $2.85 per hour against a state minimum of $7.85. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers settled for $825,000 covering roughly 90 cheerleaders, and the New York Jets settled for $324,000 covering 52.³²⁰

Some policy changes followed. California passed a law in 2015 requiring professional sports teams to classify cheerleaders as employees, entitling them to minimum wage, overtime, and sick leave. A similar bill introduced in New Jersey in 2016 died in committee.³²⁰ New York did not enact a comparable statute, but the Buffalo rulings established, on the record, that a professional cheerleading squad run the way the Jills were run could not be staffed by independent contractors.

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CBS News. Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders Pack Up Pom Poms After Lawsuit
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ESPN. NFL Fails Cheerleaders
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CNBC. Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders Only $105 for One Season
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NY State Appeals. Fourth Department Affirms Class Certification for Buffalo Jills
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Spectrum Local News. Buffalo Jills Reach Settlement With Bills, Cumulus Media
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People. Buffalo Bills Cheerleader Reveals Rules She Followed Before It Was Disbanded
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Inside Radio. Cumulus Will Pay $4 Million to Settle Suit Brought by Former Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders
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