The 2023 NFR marathon is almost over, but it’s still heating up. We’ve seen snakebit teams get on a roll in the last half of the Finals. We saw a three-way tie in Round 7, and a world-record-tying run of 3.3 in Round 8. The race for the gold buckle is getting crazy as the gaps continue to close. Here’s how it’s looking.
Payout refresher
The payout of the 2023 NFR is record-breaking, paying $30,706 per man for a round win and $78,747 per man for the average. Here’s a refresher on this year’s round and average payouts.
2023 NFR payout per round
- 1st place: $30,706 per man
- 2nd: $24,268
- 3rd: $18,325
- 4th: $12,877
- 5th: $7,924
- 6th: $4,953
2023 NFR average payout
- $78,747 per man
- $63,889
- $50,517
- $37,145
- $26,744
- $19,315
- $13,372
- $7,429
With two rounds left, the most a team could win in the rounds is $61,412, if they win Rounds 9 and 10. Between the average and the remaining rounds, the maximum amount a team could win—if they were to win Round 9, 10 and the average—is $140,159.
What do the world standings look like after Round 8?
| Headers | Earnings | Heelers | Earnings |
| Clint Summers | $227,074.61 | Wesley Thorp | $244,061.04 |
| Tyler Wade | $226,833.77 | Jake Long | $240,575.85 |
| Andrew Ward | 219,856.02 | Buddy Hawkins | $219,856.02 |
| Nelson Wyatt | $201,390.45 | Hunter Koch | $196,404.84 |
| Luke Brown | $196,404.84 | Colter Todd | $195,639.89 |
| Kaleb Driggers | $193,174.33 | Junior Nunes Nogueira | $193,174.33 |
| Dustin Egusquiza | $190,445.48 | Levi Lord | $190,445.48 |
| Coleman Proctor | $187,070.71 | Logan Medlin | $187,070.72 |
| Derrick Begay | $180,472.69 | Jeremy Buhler | $179,048.30 |
| Clay Smith | $180,180.11 | Paden Bray | $175,581.42 |
| Rhen Richard | $179,048.30 | Paul Eaves | $173,588.24 |
| Erich Rogers | $173,236.92 | Patrick Smith | $159,907.66 |
| Tanner Tomlinson | $159,907.66 | Jonathan Torres | $151,216.27 |
| Marcus Theriot | $140,888.89 | Cole Curry | $133,712.06 |
| Jake Clay | $136,871.50 | Tyler Worley | $130,727.46 |
And what about the average?
Derrick Begay and Colter Todd remain the only team with eight steers caught. Begay is $46,601.92 behind Summers, who leads the heading world standings, and Todd is $48,421.15 behind Thorp at No. 1 on the heel side.
- Derrick Begay / Colter Todd, 60.7/8
- Andrew Ward / Buddy Hawkins, 35.4/7
- Luke Brown / Hunter Koch, 40.7/7
- Tyler Wade / Wesley Thorp, 50/7
- Nelson Wyatt / Jonathan Torres, 59.1/7
- Clay Smith / Paden Bray, 30/6
- Clint Summers / Jake Long, 33.8/6
- Tanner Tomlinson / Patrick Smith, 46.2/6
- Rhen Richard / Jeremy Buhler , 50.8/6
- Kaleb Driggers / Junior Nunes Nogueira, 31.4/5
- Erich Rogers / Paul Eaves, 31.4/5
- Marcus Theriot / Cole Curry, 33/5
- Dustin Egusquiza / Levi Lord, 26.3/4
- Jake Clay / Tyler Worley, 31.7/4
- Coleman Proctor / Logan Medlin, 45.1/4
If the Finals ended after Round 8, who would win the world?
| Andrew Ward | $283,745.21 | Buddy Hawkins | $283,745.21 |
| Tyler Wade | $263,978.69 | Wesley Thorp | $281,205.96 |
| Derrick Begay | $259,219.41 | Colter Todd | $274,386.61 |
| Marcus Theriot | $252,817.55 | Jake Long | $253,946.57 |
| Luke Brown | $246,920.47 | Hunter Koch | $246,920.47 |
| Clint Summers | $240,445.33 | Paden Bray | $194,895.62 |
| Nelson Wyatt | $228,135.21 | Junior Nunes Nogueira | $193,173.53 |
| Clay Smith | $199,494.54 | Levi Lord | $190,444.99 |
| Kaleb Driggers | $193,173.53 | Logan Medlin | $187,070.42 |
| Dustin Egusquiza | $190,444.99 | Jeremy Buhler | $179,047.95 |
| Coleman Proctor | $187,070.42 | Jonathan Torres | $177,961.03 |
| Rhen Richard | $179,047.95 | Paul Eaves | $173,587.95 |
| Erich Rogers | $173,236.63 | Patrick Smith | $167,336.98 |
| Tanner Tomlinson | $167,336.98 | Cole Curry | $133,711.72 |
| Jake Clay | $136,871.21 | Tyler Worley | $130,727.17 |
