PUEBLO, Colo. – Whether you’re a fan of a particular PBR Teams squad or just the sport, the transaction wire is worth paying close attention to. It’s where Championships are often won.

Fans of the Carolina Cowboys found out last Friday afternoon that 2020 PBR World Finals Champion Boudreaux Campbell was traded to the Missouri Thunder in exchange for the Thunder’s first-round pick in the 2024 New Rider Draft, a position to be determined in the upcoming draft lottery.

Campbell, a fan favorite who was selected by the Cowboys in the third round of the inaugural PBR Teams draft in 2022, went 5-for-18 in the 2023 season. In individual competition, he finished fifth in Sacramento, California, on Sunday after a 2-for-4 weekend, moving from No. 18 to No. 14 in the world.

As with any trade, the debate began, asking “Who got the better end of the deal?”

My take is this is a progressive move by both teams, and both are winners.

The Carolina Cowboys have already proven they like making big moves, engineering two trades prior to the 2023 First-Year Rider Draft to net the first and second overall picks.

Those trades landed proven stars in seven-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Champion Sage Kimzey and four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Josh Frost.

In essence, the Cowboys were buyers last year – selling future assets to bolster their lineup for the 2023 season by trading their 2024 New Rider pick to the Kansas City Outlaws in the deal to acquire the second overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Rider Draft.

Ultimately, Carolina came up short in their pursuit of gold, but on paper this team looked loaded.

The Missouri Thunder didn’t have the 2023 regular season they wanted, finishing last with a record of 8-20. However, they put together a respectable performance at the ensuing PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas as the first team to win two Last Chance Games and make it to the Semifinals before the Austin Gamblers eventually dashed their hopes.

The Thunder struck gold with their selection of young gun Kade Madsen with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Rider Draft, though they knew the young rider would be absent for the following two years in serving on a church mission.

The Thunder also have names like the No. 16 Felipe Furlan, No. 27 Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, No. 42 João Lucas Campos, No. 49 Andrew Alvidrez and No. 57 Briggs Madsen, brother of Kade.

The 2024 New Rider Draft order will be determined by a lottery featuring 100 ping pong balls with details soon to be announced, and the Thunder should have some of the better odds of receiving the first overall pick.

Without knowing exactly who will declare for the New Rider Draft, a few rookies have shined in the premier Unleash The Beast individual competition now underway.

Currently ranked No. 4 in the world, John Crimber (9 for 19 on the UTB season) is the current favorite as the first overall pick.

In Sacramento, Crimber, who has been on every team’s radar since the Teams league began, was in the lead in the championship round, knocking on the door for his first premier series win for the second time, only to be denied, to take second just like in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Crimber, 9-for-19 (47 percent) on the UTB season, will be viewed as a cornerstone asset wherever he winds up.

North Carolina native Clay Guiton, who finished 9th in Sacramento, has quickly turned into a top-tier asset alongside Crimber.

No. 24 in the world standings and riding 50 percent (6-for-12) of his UTB bulls, Guiton has shown an abundance of ability, matched by an equal portion of guts and try and topped by a likeable personality. The kind of athlete who’s awestruck to be living his dream.

There will undoubtedly be other names emerging as highly valued selections in the New Rider Draft.

Prior to that important day, the PBR Camping World Team Series will also be holding an Expansion Draft ahead of the 2024 regular season, which will see 10 teams compete rather than the eight matching up during the league’s first two seasons.

In the Expansion Draft, each team will be allowed to keep three riders already on their protected roster for the 2024 regular season.

And it is the protected roster – and the implications of those riders not protected – which is at the heart of the “why” for Friday’s trade.

On paper, the Carolina Cowboys had five highly valued riders on their starting roster in 2023. As of now, they will be allowed to keep three for the 2024 season, leaving up to four riders eligible for selection in the 2024 New Rider Draft.

However, each existing team can lose only one rider to an expansion team in the expansion draft. At the conclusion of the 2024 Expansion Draft, existing teams will have six riders on their roster for the 2024 season.

On the other side of the ledger, projecting the Missouri Thunder’s lineup during the 2023 season, Boudreaux Campbell would have been an everyday starter.

This transaction makes sense on both sides of the ledger.

Carolina acquired a 2024 New Rider pick, giving up an asset that they would have likely lost to the Expansion Draft. The Missouri Thunder received a bull rider who has won on the sport’s biggest stages while bringing loose exuberance to the locker room.

I don’t want to understate the value of Boudreaux Campbell becoming a member of the Missouri Thunder, but this move really looks smart on the Carolina Cowboys side.

General Manager Austin Dillon’s foresight to acquire assets his team can use in the future for an asset they were going to lose to the Expansion Draft is genius. Hey, you don’t win the Daytona 500 without knowing how to be strategic at 190 mph.

I fully expect Boudreaux Campbell to be a cornerstone piece of the Thunder’s 2024 lineup.

On the other hand, the Carolina Cowboys now have flexibility moving into the 2024 New Rider Draft.

I expect the draft pick the Carolina Cowboys acquired from the Missouri Thunder to be a top four overall pick; this isn’t guaranteed but statistically speaking, it’s likely.

Could we see the boys in baby blue acquire a rookie sensation?

Clay Guiton calls North Carolina home and has shown an ability to ride rank bulls away from his hand. Guiton became the first right-handed rider to successfully ride Bandito Bug from Blake Sharp and partners at the recent Unleash The Beast in Tulsa.

With Austin Dillon’s deal-making proven, we can deduce that Carolina also could make another trade like the one made with Missouri.

The Cowboys currently still have the rights to names like 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis, Sage Kimzey, and Josh Frost. I wouldn’t be surprised if other teams were evaluating their current protected rosters, looking at ways to land another star before the roster changes happen.

We could potentially also see Carolina use the 2024 new rider pick they acquired for another trade during the Expansion Draft.

Roster construction is a term frequently heard in other sports. Take the Minnesota Vikings, in quarterback dilemma right now. Vikings fans have a plethora of varying opinions about what steps their franchise should take moving forward. The PBR Camping World Team Series is now making that kind of discussion a reality for bull riding fans.

Fans of both the Missouri Thunder and Carolina Cowboys should feel good about this trade.

And I’m predicting it’s just the tip of the iceberg with a strong possibility the trade market will continue to heat up as we press forward towards the 2024 Camping World Team Series regular season.

The riders kept on rosters, the trades, and the draft picks coming up in 2024 will make a significant impact on who is a contender and who is a pretender heading toward the next Teams Championship.

The Carolina Cowboys and the Missouri Thunder started the action. Keep your eyes open because I believe this is just the start of roster changes to come as we inch closer to team bull riding in 2024.

What an exciting time to be a fan of professional bull riding.

Cooper Krause is a member of the PBR production team, driving a semi-truck to haul steel and equipment to events around the country. A dedicated student of bucking bulls, he is on point for rounding up the animal athletes when they’re done bucking.