NASCAR charter values have surged sharply in recent years, and filings tied to 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, show heavy spending. The team paid over six times more for a charter bought in 2024 as compared to 2020.
A new expert report and court papers list multiple charter purchases and sales from 2016 through 2024. The data shows the NASCAR Cup Series charters that once sold for a few million dollars now trade for $25 million or more.
Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass shared the numbers from one of the expert reports on X. According to the tweet, 23XI, which fields two full-time and one part-time entry in the series, bought its first charter for $4.7 million in 2020 and its second one for $13.5 million. The cost for its latest purchase had increased to $28 million by last year.
Pockrass also shared the spending of Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports (FRM), which also filed the antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR in October last year. Both 23XI and FRM refused to sign the new charter agreement and lost their charter status earlier this year. They are currently competing as ‘open teams’ with far less guaranteed income per race than chartered teams.
FRM also bought a charter in 2024, which was more than four times the cost ($29 million) of one the team sold in 2020 for $7 million.
Negotiations for an out-of-court settlement between Michael Jordan-Hamlin’s 23XI, Jenkin’s FRM, and NASCAR collapsed over who would pay for legal and operating costs. The teams have indicated combined expenses of around $100 million linked to lost charter revenue and litigation.
They also asked NASCAR to cover their lost earnings from running as open teams.
Can Michael Jordan’s and Bob Jenkins’ teams settle with NASCAR before Dec 1 trial?
Earlier this week, a U.S. District Judge also dismissed NASCAR’s countersuit against Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Judge Kenneth D. Bell found NASCAR failed to show either an unreasonable restraint of trade or that it suffered antitrust harm.
NASCAR later hinted that it was working to find a settlement before the Cup Series’s final race of the 2025 season this Sunday. During the settlement earlier this month, NASCAR had agreed to give teams more flexibility and leverage when negotiating charters.
It also said that the charter system will continue beyond 2031, when the current seven-year agreement could expire, and agreed to return six charters to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, valued at up to $300 million based on recent sales.
Meanwhile, a jury trial for the case is set to begin on December 1, where both sides will present their antitrust case over NASCAR’s charter system.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
