NASCAR settles explosive Michael Jordan lawsuit as billionaire NBA icon speaks out on end result

Michael Jordan and his fellow plaintiffs suing NASCAR over alleged antitrust violations have reached a settlement with the racing circuit.

Although details of the agreement have not been released, the six-time NBA champion reacted to the agreement on Thursday.

‘Today’s a good day,’ Jordan said as he waited in the gallery for attorneys to announce the deal.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports attorney Jeffrey Kessler told Judge Kenneth Bell the parties reached a settlement ‘in a way that will benefit the industry going forward.’

The settlement came on the ninth day of the trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who set aside motions hearing for an hour-long sidebar. Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, emerged from a conference room at the end of the hour to inform a court clerk ‘we’re ready.’ 

Kessler then led Jordan and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin, as well as Front Row owner Bob Jenkins, to another room for more talks.

23XI and Front Row filed their lawsuit last year after refusing to sign agreements on the new charter offers NASCAR presented in September 2024. Teams had until end of day to sign the 112-page document, which guarantees access to top-level Cup Series races and a revenue stream, and 13 of 15 organizations reluctantly agreed. Jordan and Jenkins sued instead and raced most of the 2025 season uncharted.

Both teams said a loss in the case would have put them out of business.

Bell told the jury that sometimes parties at trial have to see how the evidence unfolds to come to the wisdom of a settlement.

‘I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago,’ Bell said in court. ‘I believe this is great for NASCAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the entity of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.’

All teams felt the previous revenue-sharing agreement was unfair and two-plus years of bitter negotiations led to NASCAR’s final offer, which was described by the teams as ‘take-it-or-leave it.’ The teams believed the new agreement lacked all four of their key demands, most importantly the charters becoming permanent instead of renewable.

The settlement followed eight days of testimony in which the Florida-based France family, the founders and private owners of NASCAR, were shown to be inflexible in making the charters permanent.

‘I’ve just seen so much change over the years and things are changing at a fast pace and I don’t know how to put something in place — I don’t know how we could come to an agreement that covers forever,’ NASCAR Chairman Jim France testified this week. 

When the defense began its case Wednesday it seemed focused more on mitigating damages than proving it did not act anticompetitively.

An economist earlier testified 23XI and Front Row were owed over $300 million in damages.

The trial began with questions about Jordan’s presence, which proved distracting for some jurors. One said they were a North Carolina fan but noted the football team at Jordan’s alma mater was not ‘doing too well right now’,’ prompting laughter from the Chicago Bulls legend.

Despite the light-hearted moments, Hamlin’s emotional testimony set the mood in the courtroom as he painted a bleak financial picture for NASCAR teams.

As his 23XI co-owner Jordan watched from the gallery, Hamlin began to cry and had to stop and compose himself when asked how he got into racing. He disclosed to The Associated Press last month that his father is dying, and he said on the stand he was emotional because his dad ‘is not in great health.’

‘We got to when I was about 20 and a decision had to be made, I could keep racing or go out and work for my dad’s trailer business,’ Hamlin testified, adding that he later was thinking about what retirement looked like and found a team going out of business.

He said he needed a partner and turned to Jordan, who he had developed a friendship with when the Basketball Hall of Famer owned the Charlotte Hornets and Hamlin was a season-ticket holder: ‘If I can’t be successful with Michael as a partner, I knew this was never going to work.’

The references to his early days in auto racing and the sacrifices his family made were intended to show how difficult it is for both team owners and drivers to make it at the top level of the sport. He said he never would have been able to start 23XI in 2021 had he not partnered with Jordan.

Because of Jordan’s presence with the team, Hamlin testified, 23XI has turned a profit in all but one of its five seasons of operation. Kessler said in his opening statement that fast-food restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins has never turned a profit since starting his Front Row team in 2004, a team that won the Daytona 500 in 2021.

Kessler said a NASCAR-commissioned study found that 75 percent of teams lost money in 2024 and added that over a three-year period almost $400 million was paid to the France Family Trust. He said a 2023 evaluation by Goldman Sachs found NASCAR to be worth $5 billion. NASCAR is currently run by Jim France, son of founder Bill France Sr.

‘What the evidence is going to show is Mr. France ran this for the benefit of his family at the expense of the teams and sport,’ Kessler said.

At the heart of the lawsuit is NASCAR’s revenue sharing model, which 23XI and Front Row argue is unfair to race teams that often operate at a loss. Hamlin testified it cost $20 million to simply bring a single car to the track over a 38-race season, not including overhead expenses such as driver salary and business operations.

‘So, why would these people do this if you are just going to lose money because NASCAR isn’t giving you a fair deal?’ asked Kessler, ‘Because you love stock car racing, and there’s nowhere else to do it.’

The charter agreements signed for this year that triggered the lawsuit guarantee the teams $12.5 million in annual revenue per chartered car. NASCAR argues the guaranteed payouts are an increase from $9 million from the previous agreement, but Hamlin noted that 11 of the first 19 chartered teams are no longer in business.

All three charters 23XI purchased came from teams that ceased operations, and Hamlin said 23XI paid $4.7 million for its first charter, $13.5 million for its second and $28 million for its third, acquired late last year. He acknowledged purchasing the third charter was a risk because of the pending litigation — and the price concerned him — but it was required if 23XI intends to build itself into a top team.

The charter system guarantees a car a spot in the field each race week as well as a percentage of the purse and gives team owners an asset to sell should they want to get out of the business.