LAS VEGAS — As the 10-night National Finals Rodeo concludes here on Saturday, when world champions are crowned in events like saddle-bronc riding, calf roping and steer wrestling, professional rodeo will straddle a telling and potentially historic moment. The next big competition is scheduled for a Texas courtroom.
Looking for more money and a less harrowing schedule, dozens of the sport’s biggest stars plan to start their own tour in 2016, most of them while still dabbling on the traditional circuit.
Calling themselves Elite Rodeo Athletes, or E.R.A., they have a regular-season schedule (announced on Wednesday), a five-day championship planned for November in Dallas, a television contract with Fox Sports and the commitment of roughly 80 of the top athletes, each given an ownership share of the new enterprise.