The National Finals Rodeo (NFR), known commonly as the "super bowl of rodeo," is a championship event held yearly by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). That organization recognized the NFR in 1958 in order to decide the world champion in each of rodeo's seven main events: calf roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, and team roping. The world championship steer roping opposition has always been held separately from the regular NFR.

The National Finals Rodeo showcases the talents of the nation's top fifteen money-winners in each event as they fight for the world title. The first National Finals Rodeo NFR was held in Dallas in 1959 and sustained at that venue through 1961. In 1962-64 Los Angeles hosted the competition. In 1964, however, Oklahoma City successfully bid to be the host city. In 1965 the first National Finals Rodeo NFR in State Fair Arena drew 47,027 fans. The world event remain there through 1978 and thereafter was held in the Myriad Convention Center. Rodeo's premier magnetism remained in Oklahoma City through 1984, bringing Oklahoma merchants estimated yearly revenue of $8 million dollars. In 1984, however, the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, bid for the event.

Although the Oklahoma City Council considered building a new $30 million arena at the State Fairgrounds, the Las Vegas bid won. Throughout the rodeo's twenty years in Oklahoma City, some unforgettable performances were turned in by athletes both human and animal. In December 1967 Freckles Brown, who recognized an Oklahoma ranch after World War II, became the first man in history to stay eight seconds on the bull Tornado. That well-known bull, which had thrown the previous 220 contestants, was owned by Jim Shoulders, another world-champion cowboy from Oklahoma. Additional national rodeo championship competitions have also been held in Oklahoma. The PRCA National Finals Steer Roping enthused from Laramie, Wyoming, to the Lazy E Arena, in Guthrie, Oklahoma, for the 1984 event and has continued there. The Women's National Finals Rodeo was also held at the Lazy E from 1985 through 1993. Oklahoma is too home to the International Finals Rodeo (IFR), held yearly since 1969 by the International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA), which is based in Oklahoma City.