Opinion: Points vs. Money

The PBR standings are determined by points.  In each event riders get the points they score in their rides, in addition to bonus points awarded for winning a round, or a night, or an event, placing second or third, and so on.  In the current world standings, which includes 71 riders, the points range from 11,869.50 (Silvano Alves) on down to79.50 (Marco Eguche).  Never heard of Eguche?  Me neither.

You've probably heard of Paolo Crimber (84.25), Josh Koschel (583), and Cord McCoy (690.25), though.

So there we go along, happily adding points and advancing in the standings (or not) and then - whammo - here come the World Finals and everything changes.

Suddenly it's no longer how many points you have.  It's about how much money you have won, because the top forty money-winners get to go to the World Finals.  The rest don't.

Now in most cases, while money and points don't correlate exactly, it comes pretty close.  Luke Snyder is the top money-winner with $283,419, but he is only 10th in the standings.  He won the Last Cowboy Standing, so he's up there.  The top three riders in points are the next three after Luke in money.

So the race at the top continues to be about points.  The World Champion will be determined by points.  The World Finals winner will be determined by points.

But it gets dicey farther down the line, closer to the cut off for the Finals, where, if you are near the 40-man cut-off line, suddenly the race is definitely about dollars.

For example, Harve Stewart is 43rd in standings but has won $24,090, more than Brendan Clark (34th), Jason O'Hearn (35th), Cody Campbell (37th), Pete Farley (38th), Kasey Hayes (39th), and Elton Cide (40th).

Eight riders who fall below the 40th rank have earned more money than Hayes (39th), including Cord McCoy, who is in 50th position in points but something like 45th in money.

This is how it's done in rodeo, and so it's not a big surprise that it has carried over into the PBR, but from the standpoint of most sports, it makes no sense.

As Ty Murray said yesterday, at this time of year the race at the bottom – to win a position at the Finals – becomes as interesting as the race at the top.

But either have have the race be determined by money or have it be determined by points.  Don't switch from one to the other right when it matters the most.

Coming up tomorrow:  Touring Pro dollars vs. Built Ford Tough dollars

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