Here's how NFL cheerleader uniforms have evolved over 50 years

Associated Press; Getty/Pascal Rondeau/Allsport; Getty/Rob Carr

NFL cheerleaders have been entertaining crowds at football games since the 1960s, and they're not just shaking pom poms around for show. These women perform grueling dance routines that require up to 15 hours of practice a week — a commitment of time and energy for which they're often underpaid and under appreciated.

The thing that's never changed? The women on the NFL squads have always known how to rock a uniform, whether it's a turtleneck sweater and pleated skirt or a skintight, bedazzled pirate costume.

Here's a closer look at how the NFL's cheerleader uniforms have evolved over the decades. 

NFL cheerleading squads first started to pop up in the 1960s. Back then, uniforms were a bit more conservative.

You don't often see cheerleaders in turtleneck sweaters today.

But as far back as the 1970s, there were midriff-baring uniforms like the ones popular today.