Breshly News

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan’s race team will continue to compete in NASCAR.

With uncertainty of what would happen to Jordan’s 23XI Racing as well as Front Row Motorsports as they sued NASCAR on antitrust grounds, the two sides settled Thursday after a brutal 15-plus months of sparring in court, especially in the eight days of trial.

The settlement awards charters to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — both had relinquished their charters when they didn’t sign the 2025-31 agreement to pursue the lawsuit — as well as an amendment to the agreement for all teams with a form of “evergreen” charters, subject to mutual agreement.

Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

“Both parties feel like it’s worth it — because we understand we had to work together,” Jordan said outside the courthouse. “Compromise in every negotiation is one of the toughest things that you can do. 

“And I think that you can say that we both compromised on both of our agendas, and I think we both come to the conclusion that it’s better for the sport.”

Jordan said they were like “two competitors” in getting the settlement done.

“The fans have always been the best solution to this, over us here, to the sport itself — the only way that, and I’ve said this from Day 1, the only way this sport is going to grow is we have to find some synergy between the two entities,” Jordan said.

“And I think we’ve gotten to that point. Unfortunately, it took 16 months to get here. But I think level heads have got us to this point to where we can actually work together and really grow this sport. I’m very proud about that.”

NASCAR Chairman Jim France stood beside Jordan outside the courthouse.

“I feel the same,” France said. “We can get back to a focus on what we really love, and that’s racing. … We made a very good decision here together. We have a good opportunity here to grow the sport.”

France had just finished testifying Wednesday — Jordan testified the previous Friday — and there were at least two days of witnesses scheduled. But testimony never resumed Thursday as the judge waited two hours for the sides to hash out the settlement.

“I grew up watching [Jim’s] father build this sport,” Jordan said. “I didn’t want to have to tear it down. I don’t think he wanted it to be tore down. But I think in the calmer circumstances, we actually voiced what our interest may have been, collectively, and at the end of the day, we reached some type of compromise.

“And to me, that’s in every negotiation. That’s in every agreement, I’m very happy we stand on this step to move forward, as opposed to moving separate.”

As they waited for the final signatures, NASCAR attorneys shook hands and chatted with Jordan, and NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell talked with the basketball icon after the settlement.

Jordan is the majority owner of 23XI Racing, while star driver Denny Hamlin owns 40 percent. While Jordan has been the national face of the lawsuit, Hamlin has been the face inside the racing industry as his competitor obligations require him to speak to the media prior to every race.

“Everything within the settlement is going to grow the sport,” Hamlin said. “It’s going to be better for everyone. There’s no doubt about it.”

Hamlin seemed confident in the case leading up to the trial as the teams claimed that NASCAR didn’t provide them with an economically viable business model through the charter agreement. The judge had already ruled the teams had a monopoly as NASCAR sanctions the races, owns more than half the tracks and sets a base price for its race cars because of the required use of single-source suppliers for parts and pieces. Exclusivity clauses in the track sanction agreements and the charter agreements with the teams, along with the inability to use the Next Gen car at other events, keep a competitor from forming, the teams alleged.

If the jury determined NASCAR had utilized anticompetitive acts to retain the monopoly, it could have awarded 23XI and FRM combined damages of more than $300 million — and the judge could have tripled that amount.

The judge also could have forced NASCAR to sell its tracks or alter the exclusivity provisions or even get rid of the charter system — a system that guarantees teams a spot in each race and a fixed base of revenue.

The agreement that 13 of the 15 Cup teams signed in September 2024 awards the teams $12-13 million annually, while 23XI and FRM contended that they need $20 million annually. The agreement also ends in 2031 with a potential seven-year extension through 2038 — without the guarantee of any increase in payouts to the teams.

In the charter negotiations, teams had lobbied for permanent charters, and that the “evergreen” language for all teams will be added is considered the biggest victory in the lawsuit.

There was no guarantee the teams would win the trial, and the teams faced the prospect of likely going out of business if they remained without charters, as a team without charters likely would make less than $5 million from NASCAR during the season. The teams didn’t sign the charter agreement because of a provision that they could not sue NASCAR, and filed the antitrust lawsuit instead.

“Level heads [won],” Jordan said. “When you get to the finish line, sometimes you have to think not just for yourself, but you got to think about the sport as a whole.

“And I think both parties got to that point, and we realized that we can have an opportunity to settle this, and we dove in, and we actually did it. Unfortunately, it took us that long, but we got here and that’s all that matters.”

NASCAR had contended all along that this was negotiation through litigation. And while the lawsuit is over, bitter feelings could continue.

Several texts and emails of NASCAR executives making disparaging comments about drivers, as well as long-time owner Richard Childress, won’t be forgotten.

The teams also aren’t unscathed as their financial information (just like NASCAR’s) is now public.

The 23XI Racing internal squabbles also were brought to light — Jordan’s own business executives complained about Hamlin and his excessive spending.

“It’s a marriage — if I didn’t have people having checks and balances on me, I’d do everything I could to win races,” Hamlin said. “You always need people within a company [to see] that the business is running properly.

“And that’s essentially what we were trying to protect with this lawsuit – that this team is here for the long run.” 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.