It has been a while since Michael Jordan announced his intention to sell the Charlotte Hornets team in the NBA. Since then Jordan has reportedly increased his direct involvement in the operations of his NASCAR Cup Series racing team – 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with Denny Hamlin.
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The team was founded back in 2020 as a one-car team but in the subsequent season; they fielded two cars, one of them being the #23 car driven by Bubba Wallace and the #45 car which originally had Kurt Busch behind the wheel. Later on, the #45 car was driven by former RCR driver Tyler Reddick.
However, all this while Jordan had been occupied with his other ventures and had not been as involved as Hamlin in the operations and management of the team. Recently, while speaking with the media, Denny Hamlin explained how Jordon’s involvement increased following the sale of the Horners.
Michael Jordan has been focusing more on his NASCAR team as per Denny Hamlin
While speaking with the press, Hamlin mentioned, “Certainly, he’s involved in more meetings. Now he wants to be on every branding e-mail… I’m like, oh boy, this could be interesting. I think he has had some more time. Perhaps he is going to use more on the race team.”
This development will now be the ideal scenario for the 23XI Racing team to develop and grow further. With both of its founders now dedicated to focusing on the matters at hand, the team should notice several improvements over the coming years.
Furthermore, this would also take some of the stress off Hamlin, who otherwise would jump between his own racing career at JGR and managing the team at 23XI Racing.
Why did Jordan sell the Hornets?
There may have been several reasons for Jordan’s intention to sell the Hornets team. But perhaps the most obvious reason would be the return on investment he would be receiving in the process. At the end of the day, Jordan is a businessman and a good businessman always finds a way to make a profit.
Looking back at 2006, Jordan purchased a minority stake in the team. But just four years later in 2010, he picked up an even larger chunk of the team’s ownership for a whopping $275 million. Interestingly, over the duration of his ownership, the team did not fare too well, only being able to make it to the playoffs twice in more than a decade.
But despite the performance woes, right before the sale, the team was estimated to have a value of around $3 billion. Furthermore, Jordan did not completely sell his stake in the team, he still retains a minority stake as the Horners continue on under its new ownership.
