an advantage or profit gained from something.
You realize without the additional year he wouldn't have broke the record, right? Benefit doesn't mean that he was "gifted" the role, but that he "benefited" from staying and starting all 4 years. Of course he had to work for it, but he stayed all 4 years and "benefited" from 4 years of playing compared to Harvey, Luke, Willis, and Jenkins who only played 2-3 years.