The 2024 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is coming in hot, and all told will dish out an all-time high $16.2 million at the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus during its December 5-14 run. As we roll into the Super Bowl of Rodeo, here are a few fun Finals facts you may not already know, along with cowboy check-ins with some of the team roping headliners to take their pulse on what’s about to go down in Cowboy Town.
Numero Uno
While their bank accounts aren’t complaining, the leaders of the regular-season pack always have the bull’s-eye on their backs. Everyone is after 2024 regular-season kings Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord. And yet, there’s no better place to be than No. 1 in the world standings. Dustin and Levi have each won $201,008 heading into this year’s NFR, which puts them about $10,000 ahead of defending World Champs Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp.
Egusquiza of Marianna, Florida and Lord of Sturgis, South Dakota are the second set of team ropers to clear $200 grand in a single regular season, and came close to Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira’s $227,878 regular-season team roping record, which was set in 2022.
“This is where we wanted to be when the year started,” said Dustin, who’s this year roping at his seventh NFR, and also won the regular season with Travis Graves in 2021 (TG finished second behind Junior Nogueira that year). “This is where we want to be when the Finals rolls around in 2025, too.
“There’s no advantage to going in first, really, because whoever has the best 10 days in Vegas is going to win it (the world championship). It’s anybody’s ballgame, especially among about the top-five teams or so. $10,000 doesn’t mean much in Vegas.
“I look at winning the regular season as a separate accomplishment. It’s very hard to come out on top, and it’s always a big goal. But it’s not that big an advantage when it comes to everybody’s biggest goal. Levi and I are going to have to rope better than anybody else when we get there for that.”
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association awards each regular-season champ a $7,500 bonus check and buckle on NFR back-number night, which this year is Tuesday, December 3 at the South Point.
“Being No. 1 going into the Finals was our goal all year long, and we feel good about it,” added Lord, who’ll heel at his fourth Finals this year. “This is definitely where we wanted to be, though it’s so tight that it’s not like we can rope any different just because we’re going in in the lead.
“The top few teams are essentially tied, and guys can catch up fast from back in the pack if they get on a roll. But it was nice to get it done.”
Both partners were undecided at press time as to which horse they’ll be riding come opening night. But they’re in full synchronized agreement about their NFR game plan.
“We’re going to try to win a lot of first places and catch 10 at the same time,” declared team quarterback Egusquiza.
“We’re just trying not to overthink it too much,” his heeling closer added. “You obviously need to prepare, and be ready when you get there. The NFR is our biggest rodeo. But if we show up ready with our horses ready, it should go fine. We’re going to show up, make our run and stick to what we know, which is being pretty aggressive.”
Lord has the lowest NFR back number of any team roper this year at No. 22, with Egusquiza right behind him at No. 23. Since their identical-money tie was obviously not broken alphabetically, we asked the PRCA why. It’s because Lord’s PRCA card number is lower. And all-around contender Coleman Proctor is right there with them at No. 24.
Show Me the Money
Of the more than $16.2 million total payout at the 2024 NFR, which also includes $3,750,451 paid to PRCA stock contractors, $12,501,505 will land in contestant pockets. That number includes the $10,000 qualifying bonus every contestant receives up front, which no longer comes out of what they win so is now a true bonus.
That $10,000 bonus will be added to every NFR contestant’s 2024 earnings after Round 1, in addition to what the placers win. A little-know fun fact is that every qualifier is given one free ticket for the run of the rodeo. They’re also given the option to buy six additional tickets per night at $125 each. If they opt in on that, their bonus check on back number night is for the $2,500 balance. So yes, Egusquiza and Lord’s regular-season bonus will pay for each cowboy’s 60 optional NFR tickets.
2024 NFR PAYOFF BREAKDOWN
Rounds:
- $33,687.18 per man
- $26,623.74
- $20,103.64
- $14,126.88
- $8,693.47
- $5,433.42
Average:
- $86,391.31
- $70,091.06
- $55,420.84
- $40,750.62
- $29,340.45
- $21,190.32
- $14,670.22
- $8,150.12
Finals Finish Line Heroics
Two of the teams that caught fire crossing the finish line to make their way to Vegas this year included Cyle Denison and Tanner Braden, and Andrew Ward and Kollin VonAhn. This’ll be Denison and Braden’s first Finals, and a return trip for two-time World Champ VonAhn, who last roped at the Thomas & Mack in 2015.
“I’d be lying if I said it’s not something I’ve dreamed about my whole life,” Denison said. “The thought of just holding that rascal (NFR back number), that hasn’t really sunk in for me. This is a lifelong dream, so it still feels surreal.”
Ward was “in” before the Cinch Playoffs Series Championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at regular-season’s end, but desperately wanted VonAhn behind him in Vegas.
“Kollin kept saying, ‘If you get me to Sioux Falls, I’ll get myself to the Finals,” grinned Ward, who’s about to rope at his fourth-straight NFR and just won the inaugural CoJo Open with Jake Long. “He has amazing confidence.
“Sioux Falls was one of my favorite wins I’ve ever experienced. We knew we had to do good, and we were able to come through right there at the very end. I think we had to win second or third on our final-four run for Kollin to make it. And bottom line, we had to catch all four steers there or our dream was over.
“I don’t know how it gets any better than this. Back in high school, Kollin called me one day and said, ‘Hey, I’m your neighbor over here in Blanchard, if you’d like to come rope with me. I’ve been going to his house to rope ever since. Other than maybe my brother, Reagan, Kollin would be the guy I’ve roped the most steers with. I’ve had a lot of awesome help from a lot of people, but I wouldn’t be here without Kollin. He’s who taught me to be a professional header. To get to rope with him at the NFR is so much fun for me.”
NFR Newcomers
All told, there are six team ropers making their debuts at the Thomas & Mack. Jake Smith, J.C. Yeahquo and Denison will nod their heads on the front side for the first time, and Kaden Profili, Braden and Coleby Payne will back into the NFR heeling box for the first time. No one has ridden a more rocky rodeo roller coaster among them than Payne, who was in then out right there at the finish line last year.
“This fall is a lot more peaceful, that’s for sure,” grinned Payne, who’ll heel for two-time World Champion Header Clay Smith. “That whole situation (which basically boiled down to a rodeo-count controversy, which went his way before being overturned) was so stressful. We didn’t know if we needed to be practicing for the NFR or not, and the not knowing was hard. This year, all the pieces to the puzzle came together.
“Since I was a little kid, making the NFR was the only thing I ever wanted. What happened last year was the worst, but it motivated me even more to prove everybody wrong. It really lit a fire in me, and it showed me that I have a group of people who are behind me one million percent.
“Not getting to go to the NFR last year also made me realize what’s most important, and that’s good people who are good to you. I learned to tune out negativity. When I’m rodeoing, I take social media off of my phone. You’re going to have good weeks and bad weeks when you rodeo, and when you get on there and see other people doing good when you’re struggling, it can turn into negative thoughts. Someone else handles my social media. It’s better for me to stay in my own lane and trust that the work I’m doing is going to be good enough.”
Payne felt a definite difference in his own performance this year is what got him over the NFR hump.
“I was on the outside looking in the majority of last year,” he said. “With Clay heading for me, it felt like a little bit of extra pressure, because I knew I was supposed to make it roping with him. Looking back now, that sounds so stupid. Bottom line, I didn’t rope good enough last year. I let the mental side hurt me more than anything, and was checking the standings 15 times a day.
“It ate me alive when I didn’t do good last year. This summer, I might have checked the standings once a week. I had a way better reset button this year. We’re all going to make mistakes, and I didn’t let making one ruin my whole week.
“I truly believe I belong at the NFR now. Last year could have made or broke me, and I was thankfully able to work through it. I wouldn’t trade the experience last year gave me for anything, and I’m very excited to rope with Clay at his 10th NFR. I see some fire in him about getting me there for the first time. I think it’s a breath of fresh air for him, too. I couldn’t melt and pour him into the (Fort Worth) Stockyards before. Now, he’s calling me every week and saying, ‘Hey, let’s go to Northside.’ It’s like he’s never been to a rodeo before. He’s pumped. And that pumps me up, too.”
Records at Risk
There is a “big four” when it comes to team roping records. The 3.3-second NFR record is also the world record. It was first set by Chad Masters and Jade Corkill at the 2009 NFR, and has since been matched five times by Brock Hanson and Ryan Motes in Nacogdoches, Texas in 2012; Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira at the 2017 NFR; Clay Smith and Corkill at San Antonio in 2021; Dustin Egusquiza and Travis Graves in Oakley, Utah in 2021; and TWade and Thorp at the 2023 NFR.
The other three major milestones at stake in Vegas include the NFR record on 10 steers, which was set by Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith in 53 seconds flat in 2022; the $199,727 per man NFR team roping earnings record, which is also owned by Tomlinson and Smith from that same year; and Driggers and Nogueira’s single-season team roping earnings bar of $340,708 a man, which also went down in 2022.
Everyone hopes the money records fall every single year, as the payoff continues to climb. The one that really stood the test of time was Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper’s NFR average record of 59.1 on 10, which they set in 1994 and stood for nearly 30 years before Ward and Buddy Hawkins broke it in 2021 with their 54.7. That only lasted a year. What’s the likelihood of it going down again?
“I knew the magic number was 59.1 before I was even a team roper,” Hawkins said. “Andrew and I beat a 27-year-old record, and Jake and Clay’s number was the only number that mattered from when I picked up a rope until we broke it. We dethroned the champs, and it felt huge.
“A lot of guys will be gunning for that 3.3 when we get to Vegas. I believe with video review, which we’ll have this year, Coleman and Logan (Medlin) would have the 3.1-second record already (they were flagged out for crossfire last year). Everyone, including the judges will benefit from review this time. I’m mainly vying for the championship this year, but if I had to bet on one team beating the 3.3, I’d bet on Coleman.
“In my book, Coleman’s the fastest header in the world. I didn’t say fastest thrower. I said fastest header. From when he ropes the cow to the time he turns around is significantly faster than anyone else. And he has a very good knowledge of that building.”
Buddy’s also bullish on his own header for all the reasons.
record in 2009.
“I absolutely, 100-percent think what J.C.’s going to do out there will fulfill a lot of people’s expectations and blow a lot of people’s minds,” said Hawkins, who’ll this year heel at his seventh NFR. “He’s a grown man mentally. Everybody makes mistakes, but if he messes up it’s not because of pressure. I think we can win $250,000 in eight or nine catches at the Finals.
“One of the special things about J.C. is his top-tier upper-body strength. He was a wrestler by trade before team roping. He’s very, very strong, and that matters most at the setups where you’re trying to get your rope going while your horse is firing. Being strong matters more at places like the NFR and San Antonio than, say, Houston or the BFI.
“J.C.’s rope-handling is second to none among headers. That, his upper-body strength and his mind are huge assets, and his style is going to fit nicely in that building. The Thomas & Mack Arena will play right into his best game.”
Heartbreak Hole
There are two trains of thought on finishing 16th in the world. Some say it’s the worst to be “one out.” Others figure it’s better than only 15 other guys in the whole wide world, so sort of hard to complain. Nelson Wyatt won $101,988 this year, to finish $3,081 behind 15th-place header Derrick Begay. On the heeling side, Begay’s partner, Colter Todd, was 16th with $105,069, which came up $3,843 short of 15th-place Paul Eaves.
“It went exactly how it was supposed to go,” said last year’s NFR heeling champ. “For me, it’s fine. I don’t rodeo for a living (he ranches). Not that I don’t care or have any emotions. But the way it ended up coming to that last steer, it was bittersweet but also cooler than heck.”
To set the stage on that last steer at the rodeo in San Bernardino, California, the 15th heeling spot was down to two great friends on the same buddy team, Eaves and Todd, and the margin between them was a mere $84. Erich Rogers and Eaves, and Begay and Todd roped back-to-back, and when Rogers and Eaves took the lead of the rodeo, Colter’s only NFR shot was to win it. Begay went for broke, which he had to, and it just didn’t work on that steer on that day.
“We had to beat them, regardless of what they did, for me to make it,” Colter explained. “But it was actually fun. It was like we were in the practice pen running one last steer to see who makes the Finals. The hardest pill for me to deal with mentally was that I felt like I was on the downhill slide, and had been doing bad instead of climbing and battling. In the end, I felt like I failed the last 30 days of the regular season.
“To fail at the end is hard. But after the second round at Sioux Falls and before we roped our steer at Mona, Utah, the heading was done and Begay was in. That meant so much to me. He roped good enough. He needed to make it. I just didn’t rope good enough. This is the first major failure I’ve had to deal with. It’s good for me, but it’s not easy. I had $94,000 won the first of August. To have that fall through doesn’t feel very good. But I’m pumped for a guy like Tanner Braden, who’s been on the bubble a couple times. I’m not the guy who needed to make it the most, and I’m happy for everyone who did make it.”
