As of the 2025–2026 NFL season, there are 7 teams that do not have official cheerleading squads; the rest of the league’s 32 teams do have cheerleaders or dance teams.

NFL teams without cheerleaders (2025–2026)

These seven franchises currently do not field an official cheerleading or dance team:

  • Chicago Bears
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • New York Giants
  • New York Jets
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

Why these teams don’t have cheerleaders

Each of these teams has its own history and reasoning for not having cheerleaders, though the reasons often fall into a few common themes.

  • New York Giants are the only NFL team that has never had an official cheerleading squad since joining the league.
  • The Green Bay Packers had a cheerleading squad in the past, but it was disbanded in the late 1980s; former coach Forrest Gregg reportedly felt cheerleaders were a distraction and not in line with the team’s football-first culture.
  • The Chicago Bears , Cleveland Browns , and Pittsburgh Steelers have experimented with cheerleaders at various points in their history, but those squads were eventually dropped and not revived.
  • For cold‑weather teams like the Bills , Bears , and Steelers , the harsh winter conditions at home games are sometimes cited as a practical reason for not having cheerleaders in traditional outfits.
  • The Chargers and Jets have chosen to focus on other forms of in‑stadium entertainment and fan engagement rather than a traditional cheerleading squad.

How the rest of the league does it

  • 25 of the 32 NFL teams currently have cheerleading or dance teams (including co‑ed squads and male cheerleaders).
  • Many of these squads are highly visible, with national TV exposure, social media followings, and even reality TV shows (like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders).
  • Some teams have moved toward more inclusive squads, adding male cheerleaders or performance dancers to modernize the role and broaden appeal.

Quick reference table

NFL Team| Cheerleaders?| Notes
---|---|---
Chicago Bears| ❌ No| No official squad; had brief stints in past 135
Buffalo Bills| ❌ No| No official cheerleaders; focus on other entertainment 135
Cleveland Browns| ❌ No| No current squad; last official try was in the 1970s 135
Green Bay Packers| ❌ No| Former squad disbanded in 1988; football‑first culture 13
Los Angeles Chargers| ❌ No| No official cheerleading squad 135
New York Giants| ❌ No| Only NFL team that has never had cheerleaders 135
New York Jets| ❌ No| No official cheerleading squad 135
All other NFL teams| ✅ Yes| Have cheerleaders, dance teams, or co‑ed squads 135

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.