One of the key demands that team owners in the Cup Series put before NASCAR before signing the new charter agreement was to bring permanent charters into the sport. The promotion vehemently rejected the idea and remained adamant that the current model by which charter rights will have to be renewed every seven years will continue. There is a proper reason behind this stand.
Advertisement
In the NBA, teams own the league. The Board of Governors approves changes in controlling ownership and comprises one representative from each team.
The team owners are the ones with the power and shape the way the sport is run by governing the rules and the regulations. In other words, a structure like this is NASCAR’s worst nightmare.
You can't look back at the 2024 NASCAR season without talking about the 23XI and FRM lawsuit 💼 pic.twitter.com/SPIJ6CkoRV
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) November 20, 2024
Veteran reporter Jeff Gluck reasoned why in an interview last month. He said, “They say that because the media rights deal is for 7 years. They can’t commit to having charters beyond that. They can commit as long as people commit to them is what Jim France, CEO of NASCAR, told the teams.” NASCAR’s response to the example of the NBA and the NFL is clear.
Teams in the Cup Series are not considered franchises. Gluck continued, “Teams do not have a say in how the sport is run whereas in the NFL and the NBA, the commissioner works for the owners. Essentially. They own the league.” Similarly, the NFL is a trade association collectively owned by 31 individually owned franchises and one shareholder-owned non-profit entity (Green Bay Packers).
NBA legend and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan forecasts doom upon NASCAR
Jordan and his business partner Denny Hamlin are currently in a legal fight with NASCAR over the charter agreement. The NBA superstar talked about how NASCAR would die if it did not make way for permanent charters in the sport. It was his first public word about the entire issue.
He said that the unwillingness is a “big, big miss” and that “if you don’t correct that, the sport’s going to die not because of the competition aspect, but because economically it doesn’t make sense for any business people.” Having owned an NBA team the basketball legend certainly knows what he is talking about.
This outlook is precisely why he decided to not relent to the promotion’s pressure and refused to sign the agreement despite the risks that not doing so posed. He and 23XI Racing are preparing for the antitrust lawsuit battle set to intensify in the coming months.
