Michael Jordan’s NASCAR Antitrust Settlement: Terms, Money, and Fallout

Michael Jordan’s NASCAR antitrust settlement, reached on December 11, 2025, ended a nine-day federal trial in Charlotte and rewrote how NASCAR does business with its teams. Jordan’s 23XI Racing and co-plaintiff Front Row Motorsports walked away with permanent “evergreen” charters for all 15 team organizations, restored charters for themselves, new revenue streams, and a governance structure that requires two-thirds team ratification of future charter agreements. NASCAR also paid the two teams a confidential sum that antitrust experts estimated at somewhere between $36.5 million and $182.5 million.¹²

What the Settlement Changed

The deal reshaped the economics and governance of the Cup Series. Six items sit at the center of it.

All 15 charter-holding organizations received permanent charters, replacing a system in which charters were time-limited and revocable. NASCAR ownership now functions closer to a franchise in traditional professional sports.¹

23XI and Front Row had their combined six charters restored for the 2026 season, ending the year they had spent racing as unchartered “open” teams.¹

Teams gained a share of NASCAR’s international media rights revenue, which they had previously received nothing from, along with one-third of the money generated from new business deals involving team intellectual property.³

A new five-strike rule replaced the previous three-strike version. When NASCAR mandates changes costing at least $500,000 per car without team approval, each instance counts as a strike; reaching five voids the exclusivity clause in the charter agreement.⁴

Future charter agreements must be ratified by two-thirds of teams. The parties described the mechanism as a “collective bargaining type situation.” An owner who declines to sign a ratified deal is given time to sell the charter.⁴

NASCAR’s cut of charter sale proceeds increased from 2% to 10%.⁴

The Money

The settlement payment is confidential. The plaintiffs had asked the jury for $365 million in damages, and their economist testified that NASCAR had shorted all 36 chartered teams a combined $1.06 billion between 2021 and 2024. Antitrust attorney Meegan Hollywood estimated the actual payout at 10% to 25% of the demand, or $36.5 million to $91.25 million. Another antitrust lawyer, speaking anonymously, told reporters he doubted the teams settled for less than 50%, or $182.5 million. Combined legal fees for both sides were estimated at $50 million to $100 million.² The settlement also compensated 23XI and Front Row for income lost while they raced without charters during 2025.⁵

The switch to permanent charters immediately reshaped valuations. Before the deal, the most recent charter sale was Legacy Motor Club’s purchase from Rick Ware Racing for $45 million. After the settlement, industry executives predicted values above $50 million, with bullish estimates of $90 million to $100 million. NASCAR’s own chief strategy officer, Scott Prime, had previously projected permanent charters would push values to around $100 million.⁶

Why NASCAR Settled on Day Nine

NASCAR’s position had eroded before trial even began. On November 4, 2025, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell denied NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment and granted the plaintiffs’ partial motion, ruling as a matter of law that NASCAR held monopsony power over the relevant market.⁷ That ruling took a central defense off the table.

The trial evidence made the situation worse. Front Row owner Bob Jenkins testified that NASCAR gave teams until midnight on a Friday to sign a 112-page charter document, a timeline he called deliberately designed to prevent legal review, and described the offer as “taxation without representation.”⁸ Jenkins also testified that he had never turned a profit in more than two decades of ownership and estimated his losses at $100 million.⁹

Internal NASCAR communications proved especially damaging. Text messages from NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps surfaced in which he called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a “stupid redneck” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged,” described Chairman Jim France’s proposals as “insanity,” and dismissed a rival racing series as “trash.”¹⁰ Fox Sports reported that NASCAR executives came across as “defensive and evasive” on the stand.⁴

The plaintiffs rested on the morning of December 10. NASCAR started its defense the same day, and one day later, after a chambers conference and roughly two hours of party deliberation, the settlement was announced. Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske, both lined up to testify for NASCAR, would have faced cross-examination about their own prior letters to NASCAR leadership lobbying for permanent charters, testimony that would have cut against the defense theory that the existing system worked.⁴

What the Fight Was About

NASCAR’s charter system, introduced in 2016, gives each of the 36 charter-holding entries a guaranteed spot in every Cup Series race and a share of the race purse. In exchange, teams cannot compete in rival series and must allow NASCAR to use their intellectual property. Under the prior split, NASCAR kept 51% of broadcast revenue, teams received 39%, and tracks got 10%.¹¹

Fielding a single car costs roughly $18 million to $20 million a year, not counting driver salaries or overhead. Guaranteed charter revenue covered only about $9 million to $12.5 million per car under the old and new agreements, forcing teams to generate 60% to 80% of their revenue through sponsorship.⁹¹¹

In September 2024, NASCAR presented its 15 charter-holding organizations with a new seven-year agreement covering 2025 through 2031. Thirteen signed. 23XI Racing, co-owned by Jordan, driver Denny Hamlin, and business partner Curtis Polk, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, refused. They filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on October 2, 2024, alleging that the France family used NASCAR’s monopoly power to enrich itself at the expense of the teams.¹ The teams also wanted permanent charters, comparing the existing system to the New York Yankees not having a guaranteed spot in Major League Baseball. The new agreement would have tied charter length to the media-rights deal rather than making charters permanent.

What Happened After the Deal

Commissioner Steve Phelps did not survive the fallout from his texts. Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, a major NASCAR sponsor, publicly called for his removal over the Childress remarks.¹⁰ Phelps resigned on January 6, 2026, saying he was leaving to “embark on new pursuits.” NASCAR announced no plans to fill the commissioner role, saying President Steve O’Donnell would continue running day-to-day operations.¹² Childress, asked about the exchange in January 2026, told Sports Business Journal he had spoken with the France family about moving forward, then added: “I’m like an old elephant, you don’t forget.”¹³

On the track, 23XI Racing wasted no time. Tyler Reddick won the Daytona 500 on February 15, 2026, the team’s first victory in the sport’s most prestigious race. Jordan called the win “like winning a championship all over again” and was photographed in Victory Lane shaking hands with NASCAR CEO Jim France.¹⁴ Reddick won four of the first six races of 2026, and the team set a NASCAR record with three consecutive premier series wins to open the year. Teammate Bubba Wallace finished no lower than 11th in the first five races.¹⁵

As of mid-2026, the settlement governs the relationship between NASCAR and its teams, and the litigation is formally concluded.¹⁶

1
ESPN. NASCAR Settles Federal Antitrust Case Filed by Two Teams
2
Jayski. Experts Say NASCAR Likely Settled Lawsuit for Millions
3
The Athletic. NASCAR Settlement: 23XI, Front Row Details
4
Fox Sports. What’s Next: NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit Over, Questions Linger
5
Ministry of Sport. NASCAR Settles Landmark Antitrust Lawsuit
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Sports Business Journal. NASCAR Investors Say Charter Values Have Already Increased With New Evergreen Provisions
7
Courthouse News. 23XI Racing v. NASCAR – Summary Judgment Order
8
ESPN. Front Row’s Jenkins: NASCAR Deliberately Rushed Charter Deal
9
VPM News. NASCAR Antitrust Trial: Bob Jenkins Testifies About $100M Loss
10
The Guardian. NASCAR Commissioner Resigns
11
Black Book Motorsport. NASCAR Charter Agreement and Sponsorship
12
WBTV. NASCAR Executive Resigns Weeks Before New Season Begins
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Sports Business Journal. Richard Childress Responds to Uncovered Texts From NASCAR Trial
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Minneapolis Media. 23XI Racing Breaks Through at Daytona
15
The Guardian. Michael Jordan NASCAR 23XI Racing Success
16
Sports Business Journal. NASCAR Settlement Delivers Win to All Involved, Particularly Fans