Tight Steer Wrestling Race Comes Down to Wire in Round 10 of National Finals Rodeo

With everything on the line, Round 10 of the NFR will be make or break for multiple steer wrestlers looking to put their name in the history books of rodeo.

Don Payne competing in 2024 NFR / Hillary Maybery for Rodeo On SI

As the tenth and final round of the National Finals Rodeo approaches on Saturday evening in Las Vegas, the steer wrestling event is the race all eyes will be on.

Six different bulldoggers have won a round at the 2024 NFR and all contestants have at least placed in the top-six and walked away with earnings. It's been a tight race all year and now the NFR has brought the pack together with multiple athletes withing striking distance not just for the NFR average championship but also for a world championship.

Currently, here are how the world standings sit ahead of the final round:

1. Dakota Eldridge, $287,797.95
2. J.D. Struxness, $274,446.48
3. Will Lummus, $237,621.80
4. Jesse Brown, $224,865.45
5. Dalton Massey, $217,956.41
6. Rowdy Parrott, $216,955.75
7. Cash Robb, $201,152.35

The winner of each round of the NFR earns $33,687. The average champion earns $86,391 per event.

Of the athletes listed above, Parrott, Lummus and Robb are all sitting in the top three spots for this year's average championship. A round win on Saturday evening could very easily catapult the winner into the top place for the average, totaling a $120,078 night.

For someone like Parrott, Lummus or Robb, that could very well put them at the top of the world standings when all is said and done.

Of course, the top-6 round and average winners will all walk away with earnings, but the race is so close across the board, each man will need a little help from his fellow competitors to cement the status as World Champion.

This steer wrestling event is one of the closest races of the year's NFR and the back and forth of the standings each night has been a spectacle to watch.

Parrott is arguably the hottest athlete on the dirt right now as he leads the average race (38.30 on nine head), has placed in six of nine evenings and won Round 2.

Lummus is well positioned as he has won two rounds thus far, but has struggled to place in recent nights. He still sits in second for the average race (38.70). He is also currently second in the world and is the closest of the three athletes mentioned to the number one spot in the world.

Robb, third in the average (39.10) has been steady, placing in six of nine nights, but to really be in contention he will need a round win on Saturday evening.

It'll be a dogfight to the finish for this event and based on how the past nine rounds have shook out, it will likely be one of the most exciting finishes of any of the events.