Multiple round wins and an average title helped TJ Gray emerge as the top money earner across all seven events at the 2025 NFR.
One of the most competitive and convenant honors awarded during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is not tied to a gold buckle, but to consistency and earnings across 10 days against all other athletes there.
That honor, the RAM Top Gun Award, went to bull rider TJ Gray at the 2025 NFR.
The Top Gun Award is presented to a contestant who earns the most money in a single event during the finals, regardless of discipline. It is contested among all 105 competitors across the seven events, but winnings cannot be combined between events. Cowboys competing in two events, like Stetson Wright and Wacey Schalla this year, are evaluated solely on their earnings from one event.
Gray came out as this year’s winner after a strong finish and an impressive NFR.
The Top Gun Award recognizes performance only during the NFR, independent of season-long world standings. The winner receives a $20,000 vehicle voucher from Bill Fick Ford, a PRORODEO truck package from AgTruck, and a custom rifle from Horizon Firearms.
Last year’s Top Gun winner was Kassie Mowry, the 2024 world champion barrel racer, who was once again in high contention this year. Ultimately, however, it was Gray who kept getting big checks and overtook the field.
A Strong Finish in Las Vegas
Gray’s second appearance at the NFR marked a bit of a turnaround from his first trip. In 2024, he entered the finals ranked No. 1 in the world standings but finished fourth overall, leaving Las Vegas short of his expectations. Although he performed well, some may say it was the rookie jitters that hurt him at all.
This year, the 24-year-old from Oregon returned ranked fifth coming in and delivered in the Thomas and Mack.
Gray covered 7 of the 10 bulls, winning Rounds 7, 8 and 10, and posted the highest-marked ride of the entire bull riding, a 90.75-point score in Round 8 aboard Rafter G Rodeo’s Doze You Down.
His Round 7 ride proved especially valuable to his cause. Gray and Bryce Jensen were the only two riders to make qualified rides that night, resulting in all of the round money being paid to those top 2. Gray earned more than $60,000 in that single round.
Average, Top Gun and World Standings
Gray’s consistency earned him the bull riding average title, finishing with 610.5 points on seven head, worth $94,036.
The bull riding average looked like this:
- TJ Gray — 610.5 points on seven head, $94,036
- Ky Hamilton — 522 on six head, $76,293
- Mackey — 513.25, $60,325
- Bryce Jensen — 506.25, $44,356
- Stetson Dell Wright — 444.25 on five head
Gray also finished second in the bull riding world standings, closing the season just behind now 10 time world champion Stetson Wright.
Final bull riding World Standings
- Stetson Dell Wright — $546,472
- TJ Gray — $513,810
- Ky Hamilton — $500,016
- Wacey Schalla — $413,458
Gray’s combination of round wins and that average title allowed him to come from behind and claim the RAM Top Gun Award, closing his second Vegas trip as the highest money earner across all events.