First Professional Cheerleading League Set To Launch in 2026

The world’s best cheerleaders have a new reason to cheer! The first professional cheerleading league is set to launch in 2026. Presented by Varsity Spirit, the Pro Cheer League will feature 30-person teams based in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and San Diego facing off in five events across the United States.

The league’s announcement comes amidst pivotal growth for cheerleading. In 2021, cheerleading’s international governing body, the International Cheer Union, became fully recognized by the International Olympic Committee. This status means that cheerleading could appear as a sport in the Olympic Games. A Sport & Fitness Industry Association study found that U.S. athlete participation in cheerleading grew from 3.8 million to 3.9 million between 2023 and 2024. Participation in the sport is also growing outside of the U.S. At its 2004 founding, the International Cheer Union counted 20 countries as members. Today, that number is 121.

“The launch of the Pro Cheer League came out of the growth we are seeing in the sport around the world,” said Varsity Spirit’s president, Bill Seely. “When you’re thinking about taking something professional, you have to have a pipeline of strong athletes and a strong following. When you also consider pop culture elements, like Netflix’s Cheer, there seems to be an appetite for it in the general public as well.”

The origins of cheerleading began on November 2, 1898 when a student jumped the fence at a University of Minnesota football game to lead his classmates in a cheer. Despite the sport’s century-long existence, Seely says the time to launch a professional league is recent.

“If it had gone any earlier, there wouldn’t have been an appetite for it in the marketplace,” Seely told RULING SPORTS. “The growth of the sport internationally was just starting to bubble up a decade ago. Cheerleading has progressed from traditional game day cheering that’s part of school spirit to the launch of the Olympic movement and being recognized by the IOC. Varsity Spirit helped lead the effort in growing stunt, which is now the fastest growing female sport in the collegiate space and will be voted on by the NCAA for championship status. So, you’re getting three disciplines and with the media exposure and general pop culture, the timing is right now.”

Varsity Spirit will own each of the four teams at launch, but Seely says the company has “intent to sell them to investors in the future.” Athletes on the inaugural teams “will be paid a high hourly rate.” Seely explains, “it’s going to be more like a part-time job five months out of the year” and that Varsity Spirit will “highlight the athletes and give them opportunities to make money outside of the Pro Cheer League with sponsorships and media opportunities.”

A broadcast deal wasn’t in place as of publication, but Seely notes that fans will be able to watch the league on linear and streaming channels. “We want to build out shoulder content for fans to get to know the athletes, learn how things are done and understand the league.”

Historically, participation in cheerleading ends for most American athletes by college graduation. The Pro Cheer League provides a pathway to extending cheerleaders’ competition in the sport. The locations of the inaugural teams also creates a marketing advantage for the league.

“One of the things we wanted to make sure we did as we began this journey was ensure we’re in cities that are hotbeds for cheerleading with strong population sizes to support the teams,” Seely said. “Those factors helped us narrow down the cities. Then, we ultimately selected cities where we had partners with well-known, strong programs. Our team partners have existing fan bases of people training at their centers already. We have folks in every major market to promote the teams and will have media days in each market to build the fan bases.”

Cheerleading won’t make its debut in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. But Seely is bullish that the Pro Cheer League can turn the tables for the 2032 Olympics.

“This only helps make the case,” he said. “Cheerleading is one of the most viewed shows on the Olympic Channel. Our goal is to obviously produce a successful professional league, but also grow the number of young people in the sport.”