Despite leading the Dallas Cowboys to four wins in his final five games, Cooper Rush was rewarded with being benched for the final game of the NFL season. A move that cost him a massive year-end bonus.
The Cowboys 2024 campaign was a massive disappointment. After three straight 12-win seasons, the hope was that this could finally be the year Dallas breaks through and gets back to the Super Bowl. However, that streak will continue after the team ended their season with a 7-10 record.
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However, as disappointing as the result was, it could have been far worse. Star quarterback Dak Prescott went down with a season-ending injury a few months ago. It seemed to set up a tailspin that might see Dallas end up with one of the worst records in the league. But due to the efforts of head coach Mike McCarthy and strong play from backup Cooper Rush, the team scored some big wins late in the year.
Yet, the Dallas’ season ended on a negative tip after they suffered a Week 18 loss to a Philadelphia Eagles team that rested many of their starters. But the loss was even worse for fan-favorite Cooper Rush. Because he was benched for Trey Lance and the decision cost him a huge bonus check.
- Cooper Rush stats (2024): 4-4 record, 1,844 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 83.8 passer rating
Jerry Jones plays ignorant when responding to Dallas Cowboys costing Cooper Rush a six-figure payday
Reports came out yesterday that Cooper Rush was on track to hit some unique incentives in his contract in Week 18. One allegedly would have seen him land a $250,000 bonus check for being under center for 45% of the team’s snaps this past season.
However, that was nullified when the organization shockingly decided to start failed former San Francisco 49ers first-round pick Trey Lance instead. A player who could not beat Rush out for the backup job during the summer and season.
The news went viral on social media. And actually led to a member of the media asking Jones about it after Dallas’ loss this weekend. And the billionaire owner was ignorant about the incentive.
- Cooper Rush contract: Two years, $5 million
“I didn’t even know about it until I read about it,” Jones said. “So nothing, nothing at all. Those incentives are in there for the team. We put them in there so if someone is, in his case, a backup quarterback who has to play, they’ve got the financial incentives. But they’re usually put in there because of the people representing them. And they should be. He did really earn some pretty serious incentives this year.”
The Dallas Cowboys backup is playing on a two-year deal worth $5 million. So losing out on a potential $250,000 payday is big for a player of his status. The team’s owner not being aware of extra checks he has to hand out at the end of the year is pretty surprising and hard to believe.
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