NASCAR Lawyer: ‘No Idea’ What MJ, 23XI Racing Think Is Fair Revenue

NASCAR revealed that the teams’ share of its media-rights revenue split has increased to 49% under the sport’s new charter agreements, in a counterclaim filed Wednesday against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which first sued NASCAR last year.

That’s a roughly 25% increase from the split that teams had been receiving by the end of the previous charter agreements that ran from 2016 to 2024, which was approximately 40% of media revenue, according to NASCAR’s legal filing. NASCAR is in the first season of new seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deals with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon, and TNT Sports.

The original lawsuit from 23XI, which is owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row called NASCAR “monopolistic bullies.” The teams were the only two that did not sign the most recent charter agreement (but are still allowed to compete this season) as they seek more revenue. 

However, a lawyer representing NASCAR said 23XI and Front Row have not laid out how much more money they want. 

“I don’t know what they think is fair,” Chris Yates of Latham & Watkins LLP said at a virtual media briefing Wednesday. “They have never explained that. I have no idea what they think the appropriate split should be. I have no idea because it’s never been articulated in any filing I’ve seen.”

No Settlement in Sight

NASCAR does not intend to reach a settlement with 23XI and Front Row, Yates said, or renegotiate the terms of the current charter agreements. “That’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’re not going to let 23XI and Front Row misuse the antitrust laws.” NASCAR will participate in the court-ordered mediation process, and a trial that is scheduled to begin in December. 

Wednesday’s filing also alleges that 23XI Racing president Curtis Polk, a longtime rep of Jordan and co-owner of 23XI, “played an active role in [an] illegal conspiracy” against NASCAR.