MICHAEL Jordan is suing Nascar and chairman Jim France in a federal antitrust lawsuit.
Michael Jordan‘s team, 23XI Racing, alongside fellow team Front Row Motorsports, claim that Nascar‘s new charter system is uncompetitive.
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Jordan’s team and Front Row Motorsports claim that the charter unfairly binds teams to Nascar, its tracks, and its suppliers.
“The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies,” the teams said in the lawsuit.
“And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims.
“That moment has now arrived.”
Nascar presented its revenue sharing model to the 15 team currently in Nascar’s Cup Series in September, and 13 of them signed.
However, most of those 13 teams signed because they felt threatened to do so.
Only two teams refused to sign the charter, 23X1 Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
Jordan’s team, which is co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin, hired Jeffrey Kessler, one of the top antitrust attorneys in the US.
Kessler represented the players in all four major American sports, helped push college sports into the NIL era, and won an equal pay settlement for the US women’s soccer team.
Jordan and Hamlin’s lawsuit is looking for answers from France “related to their exclusionary practices and intent to insulate themselves from any competition.”
Kessler is aiming to get a preliminary injunction to allow 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to compete in the 2025 season under the current charter while litigations are underway.
On top of aiming to change the revenue-sharing model for the future, Jordan’s lawsuit is also seeking damages dating back to the original 2016 charter agreement.
“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor, and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track,” Jordan said.
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors and fans.
“Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”
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Of the 19 team owners who were granted charters in 2016, only eight remain in Nascar today.
Furniture Row Motorsports sold their charter for $6 million in 2018, just one year after winning the Cup Series Championship. Plaintiffs are using this as proof that the charter does not give teams the ability to profit.
Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, the other half of Jordan’s lawsuit, claims that he has never made a profit since creating his team in 2005.
“I have been part of this racing community for 20 years and couldn’t be more proud of the Front Row Motorsports team and our success. But the time has come for change,” Jenkins said.
“We need a more competitive and fair system where teams, drivers, and sponsors can be rewarded for our collective investment by building long-term enterprise value, just like every other successful professional sports league.”
There is no timetable on how long it could take for the litigations to conclude. Still, Kessler is fighting to get teams more revenue, a say in rule-making, and a share of profits that Nascar earns from the name, image, and likeness of its drivers.
Nascar has refused to comment on the ongoing litigation.
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