diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
index f91587caf66..9728e4de401 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ options:
   backup:
     description:
       - If set, create a backup of the crontab before it is modified.
-        The location of the backup is returned in the C(backup) variable by this module.
+        The location of the backup is returned in the C(backup_file) variable by this module.
     required: false
     default: false
   minute: