"He should be forced to sell the team": NFL fans fume at Jerry Jones benching Cooper Rush to save Cowboys $500,000

The Dallas Cowboys announced that Trey Lance, not Cooper Rush, would get the start in the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon. The Cowboys won't be making the postseason and both Lance and Rush are set to be free agents this offseason.

Fans on social media began speculating as to why the Cowboys would decide to start Lance. One theory that quickly circulated on X was that team owner Jerry Jones was aware of Rush's incentives in his contract.

Rush's contract states that if he took 55% of the snaps this season, he would get a $500,000 bonus. Many fans on social media believed that Jones didn't want to spend the money and used Lance as an excuse.

Fans voiced their complaints. Some said Jones should move on as team owner if he made the decision to save $500,000. Another said that it sounds like a decision he would make.

One person on X went as far as to call Jerry Jones "unethical" while others said that he should still pay Cooper Rush the bonus since he has made eight starts this season. Rush got his first start in Week 10 after Dak Prescott suffered a serious hamstring injury that ended his season in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons.

"This would such a low move."-one fan said

"Lol he’s Jerry Jones, the guy has been unethical for decades."-one person on X joked

"I agree I think he should be forced to sell the team as a punishment."-another suggested

Jerry Jones has not commented on Cooper Rush's contract incentives and whether they made an impact in Sunday's quarterback decision.

"If you somehow needed anymore reason to hate Jerry Jones."-a fan said

"Pay Dak a boat load of money then bench Rush… classic."-another said on X

"Not really."-one said bluntly

How many snaps did Cooper Rush need to earn bonus?

Heading into Sunday's Week 18, Cooper Rush has taken 52.8% of the offensive snaps for the Dallas Cowboys. Rush led the Cowboys to a 4-4 record in his eight starts however, he won't get the season finale.

To acquire 55% of the snaps on offense this season, Rush would have needed around 80 snaps against the Washington Commanders. According to teamrankings.com, the Dallas Cowboys have averaged about 64.4 snaps per game this season.