Cowboys' Decision to Start Trey Lance May Have Been Financially Motivated

Trey Lance will start at quarterback for Dallas in their final game of the season.

Cooper Rush, Dak Prescott and Trey Lance talk during training camp. All three would end up starting games for the Cowboys this season. / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys named Trey Lance the starting quarterback for their meaningless season finale in Week 18. The news that Lance would start and Cooper Rush would sit was broken by Jenn Slater of NFL Network. While there were rumors Lance would see the field a couple days ago, the actual move was not announced until nearly two hours before the game.

The timing of the decision seems odd considering Lance hasn't gotten a look in any of the Cowboys' previous games since they were eliminated from the playoff hunt, which makes you wonder if there was another factor that came into play for the team. Some are wondering if Cooper Rush's contract had something to do with it.

Apparently, Rush has a $500,000 incentive that kicks in if he plays 55% of the team's snaps. According to Pro Football Talk, Rush would have to play 65 snaps this week to hit that percentage. Others have it at 68. Slater, who broke the news that Rush would be sitting, had it around 80.

I'm told what they love most about Trey Lance is that Cooper Rush, at 52.5% of team snaps this year, won't meet the 55% snap incentive that would pay him an additional $500,000 https://t.co/7hglWqlfub

— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) January 5, 2025

However many plays Rush would have to play this week, it appears that he won't as long as Trey Lance doesn't get hurt.

Something similar took place in baseball a couple months ago when the Pittsburgh Pirates DFA'd first baseman Rowdy Tellez four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus, but that's the Pirates.

This is the Dallas Cowboys, the most valuable sports team in the world. For them to balk at a half-million dollar payment would be wild. But it would also fit right in with the circus environment this season.

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