After seven rounds of team roping, Clint Summers and Jade Corkill lead the 2025 NFR average race with a chance to rewrite Thomas & Mack history.

Summers and Corkill sit No. 1 in the aggregate with a 31.3 on seven head–the only team to have all steers caught and caught clean. With three rounds left, Summers and Corkill have roped their way into a position where they could break the NFR team roping average record, which has fallen only twice in three decades.

In 1994, seven-time World Champs Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper set the aggregate record with a 59.1 on 10 head. It took 27 years to break it, when Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins set a new mark of 54.7 on 10 at the 2021 NFR. A year later, it was broken again. In 2022, NFR rookie Tanner Tomlinson and two-time World Champ Patrick Smith roped 10 head in 53 seconds to set a new NFR aggregate record.

What do Summers and Corkill need to do?

Summers and Corkill are currently 31.3 seconds on seven head with three more steers to run. To beat Tomlinson and Smith’s 53 seconds, they need to be 52.9 or faster on 10 head. Summers and Corkill, therefore, have 21.6 seconds to play with (21.7 to tie). What’s that break down per run? A cool 7.2 seconds per steer. Add a leg to a 4-second run, and they’ll have 6.2 seconds to work with on their Rounds 9 and 10 steers. A barrier on a 4-second run? They’d have to be 3.7 on their last two steers.

The bottom line: If Summers and Corkill can stay clean and solid, averaging 7 seconds or faster on their last three steers, they will break the NFR average record.

Average race, as of Dec. 10

And don’t forget the world standings.

Tomlinson and Corkill currently lead the world standings with $276,605.71 and $253,379.72, respectively, but make no mistake: Summers and Corkill are the projected world champs after Round 7, too.

With Summers and Corkill leading the average, they’re currently taking home $94,035.54 a man. Summers trails Tomlinson by $23,551.21 in the world standings. Tomlinson and Graves are down a steer in the aggregate and currently sit fifth, which pays $31,936.60 apiece. If the NFR ended last night, Summers aggregate win would close the gap and surpass Tomlinson. BUT, Tomlinson and Graves can move up in the average. There are 16 seconds separating the second-place team of Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres and Tomlinson and Graves. If teams continue to fall down in the average, Tomlinson and Graves could work their way to second in the average, taking home $76,292.99 a man. That would be enough to keep Tomlinson No. 1 in the world, but keep Corkill No. 1 as well.

How much does the NFR pay?

Rounds

1. $36, 667.95 per man
2. $28,979.51
3. $21,882.48
4. $15,376.88
5. $9,462.70
6. $5,914.19

Average

1. $94,035.54
2. $76,292.99
3. $60,324.69
4. $44,356.39
5. $31,936.60
6. $23,065.32
7. $15,968.30
8. $8,871.28 

Projected World Standings