By Lincoln Shryack

Now that the 2017 PBR season is in the books and 20-year-old Jess Lockwood has established himself as the greatest bull rider in the world, we felt like it was a good time to see how this year’s top cowboy stacks up against past PBR champions. Which world champion can claim the best PBR single season in history? We’ve combed through the bull riding record books to find the answer.

Lockwood put together a wildly impressive season, picking up four Built Ford Tough Series wins and ultimately taking the first three rounds at World Finals to put himself at the top of the standings for good. The second-year PBR athlete did all that while overcoming several serious injuries, and is now the youngest world champion ever. But while Lockwood is now $1.5 million richer and at the top of bull riding game, his 2017 campaign falls short of some of the best by his PBR World champion peers.

One objective lens to evaluate bull riders throughout the years is their tally of 90-point rides in a season. Two of Lockwood’s 10 90-point rides came at the perfect time at World Finals, but his overall total still couldn’t match some of the top champion cowboys from seasons past. Here’s a look at the five best world champion totals in PBR history:

1999 - Cody Hart: 16

2001 - Adriano Moraes: 15

2007 - Justin McBride: 16

2008 - Guilherme Marchi: 13

2009 - Kody Lostroh: 13

Lockwood’s 10 90-point rides in 2017 were actually the most by a world champion cowboy since Kody Lostroh’s 13 in 2009. But Lockwood likely would have played second fiddle had he competed in any of the five years listed above, as that group represents some of the most dominant seasons in PBR history. Now let’s take a look at another quality measure: season wins. These are the top five win totals by PBR world champions (Note: three men tied with six wins, so we included an extra cowboy.)

1999 - Cody Hart: 6

2005 - Justin McBride: 6

2007 - Justin McBride: 9

2013 - J.B. Mauney: 7

2014 - Silvano Alves: 6

2016 - Cooper Davis: 6

Justin McBride and Cody Hart appear on this list as well, and now the cream is rising to the top. McBride’s 2007 season and Mauney’s 2013 campaign are the two top earning seasons ever by a world champion, with both topping $1.8 million. No other cowboy has ever won more than $1.7 million in a season, so it stands to reason that they hold the two winningest seasons ever by PBR champions.

Not only is McBride the top single-season earner in PBR history, his record eight Built Ford Tough Series wins in 2007 (one win came on the Touring Pro Division) are the most ever by a bull rider. Combining that staggering total with his record 16 90-point rides, McBride’s 2007 season stands out above the rest. Luckily for Lockwood, he’ll have plenty of years to try and surpass this bull riding legend.