Former Buffalo Bills Cheerleader Reveals 9 Shocking Rules She Had to Follow Before Squad Was Disbanded (Exclusive)

Their pom poms have been laid to rest, but their team spirit is still alive.

The Buffalo Bills will continue their quest to the Super Bowl in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Jan. 26 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Their fans, the “Bills Mafia” will be there in support, but there’s one group who will noticeably be absent: Bills Cheerleaders.

In fact, the cheer team — professionally known as the Buffalo Jills — hasn’t been present on the football sideline since 2014 due to a lawsuit filed by five former cheerleaders against the organization in May of that year, which ultimately led to the suspension of squad operations.

The case against the Bills claimed that the Buffalo Jills were wrongly classified as independent contractors and were subjected to policies that violated the state minimum wage laws and other workplace rules, per ESPN. Cumulus Media (then Citadel Broadcasting Company) was also sued.

In March 2022, the eight-year-long lawsuit was settled. Cumulus and the Bills resolved all outstanding claims with the 50-plus cheerleaders represented in the suit. Cumulus owed $4 million, while the team agreed to pay $3.5 million.

Despite the settlement, the Buffalo Jills never returned to the often snow-covered sidelines and the Bills have remained without a cheer team ever since. However, the Buffalo Jills NFL Cheerleaders Alumni Association stands strong and continues its traditions with pride.

Shana Klimeczko, who was a Buffalo Jill for the NFL’s 2005-2006 season and is a current member of the Alumni Association, spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about her experiences as a cheerleader for the team. For the Buffalo native, being a cheerleader for the Bills was “a dream come true.”

The former Jill, who says she was not involved in the lawsuit that came nearly a decade after her time on the squad, also tells PEOPLE the surprising rules she had to follow on the team. Additionally, she shed light on why “you don’t do it for the money” and “can’t expect to become rich off of doing it.

Although Klimeczko described the tryouts as “intense,” she makes clear that she’d “1,000 billion percent” do it again. “That was something I always dreamt of,” she says, adding, “I’m still definitely really proud.”

Read on for the rules you didn’t know the Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders had to follow before it was disbanded in 2014.