NASCAR settles federal antitrust case filed by 2 of its teams, one owned by NBA great Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, sits in his pit box during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR reached a settlement Thursday of the bruising antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series by two of its race teams, including one co-owned by NBA great Michael Jordan.

“Today’s a good day,” Jordan said as he waited in the gallery for attorneys to announce the deal. Details were not immediately released.

The settlement came on the ninth day of the trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who set aside motions hearing for an hour-long sidebar. Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, emerged from a conference room at the end of the hour to inform a court clerk “we’re ready.” Kessler then led Jordan and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin, as well as Front Row owner Bob Jenkins, to another room for more talks.

23XI and Front Row filed their lawsuit last year after refusing to sign agreements on the new charter offers NASCAR presented in September 2024. Teams had until end of day to sign the 112-page document, which guarantees access to top-level Cup Series races and a revenue stream, and 13 of 15 organizations reluctantly agreed. Jordan and Jenkins sued instead and raced most of the 2025 season uncharted.

Both teams said a loss in the case would have put them out of business.

Bell told the jury that sometimes parties at trial have to see how the evidence unfolds to come to the wisdom of a settlement.

“I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago,” Bell said in court. “I believe this is great for NASCAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the entity of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.”

All teams felt the previous revenue-sharing agreement was unfair and two-plus years of bitter negotiations led to NASCAR’s final offer, which was described by the teams as “take-it-or-leave it.” The teams believed the new agreement lacked all four of their key demands, most importantly the charters becoming permanent instead of renewable.

The settlement followed eight days of testimony in which the Florida-based France family, the founders and private owners of NASCAR, were shown to be inflexible in making the charters permanent.

When the defense began its case Wednesday it seemed focused more on mitigating damages than proving it did not act anticompetitively.

An economist earlier testified 23XI and Front Row were owed over US$300 million in damages.

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Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press