PRORODEO Sports News - March 21, 2025

With over 70,000 fans on a nightly basis, RodeoHouston has become a must-attend for contestants with a purse of over $ 2.5 million. ( PRCA Photo by Mallory Beinborn )

to leave with $50,000. What’s the big change? Format.” Tournament style brackets. The Cinch Playoffs. Increased attention to the sport itself. All of it has added up to make rodeo a more compelling draw for fans and sponsors. Ticket sales continue to rise and brand deals with both traditional and new advertisers have altered the landscape. The result – staggering numbers that would have been hard to imagine just a few years ago. In 2024, every NFR qualifier in bareback riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding had cleared more than $100,000 in earnings before the Finals started, while nine of the 15 steer wrestlers had reached the benchmark. In fact, going into NFR last December, 22 total competitors had already eclipsed $200,000 in earnings that season. By comparison, a decade earlier, 10 competitors

needed NFR success to finish 2014 with more than $200,000 in total earnings for the season. “I think I won $50,000 (in 2023), but it was kind of an eye-opener for me of how rodeo had changed,” VonAhn said after returning to the PRCA full time last season. “About 2015, right in there, it would take mid-$60,000 to make the NFR. Fast-forward, now it’s taking over $100,000. Well, that’s a big difference. It dawned on me that you’ve got to have big opportunities on big stages if you think you’re just going to make the Finals.” Bigger payouts. Larger crowds. More media exposure. Increased awareness. PRORODEO’s continued growth is rapid and ongoing. While there are plenty of advancements to navigate, the sport’s foundation remains unchanged. At its core, it is still reliant on a cowboy or cowgirl nodding their head, aiming for that perfect run or ride.

But with more eyes watching and money invested, the reach of the Western lifestyle is only getting bigger. And that’s a situation everyone is excited about. “The thing I saw was that there really is a very large and very loyal fan base here, and that the athletes are truly some of the best remarkable athletes in the world or sports. And it’s just not necessarily been given the mainstream sports media attention that it deserves,” Lester said. “To me, there’s just a big opportunity here to put rodeo on a bigger stage with a national broadcast, to showcase the stars of the sport. And it’s also a space that really has been overlooked by major marketing and brand advertisers with a community of fans that are as loyal as almost anything I’ve seen anywhere else. “So, I just think there’s a lot of room for growth here and so we’re looking forward to pushing it forward.”

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