"NASCAR should be governed by fair practices" - Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing refuses to sign charter agreement, cites unfair bargaining
As per the latest developments, Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing has refused to sign the latest Charter agreement. The Huntersville-based team stated in a social media post that they were not given a fair opportunity to negotiate and, therefore did not comply with NASCAR's terms.
As per NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsport were the only two teams that did not agree to the latest charter deal.
23XI Racing's stagnant position with the NASCAR Charter agreement was always on the cards, as co-owner Denny Hamlin constantly expressed his dissatisfaction with the terms of the agreement. Now, they publicly announced their disagreement with a social media post on X. The statement read,
"23XI decided to not meet a NASCAR-imposed deadline last night to sign Charter agreements for its two cars for 2025-2031. 23XI's position, as stated in a letter to NASCAR, is that we did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain for a new Charter contract. We notified NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline."
"We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love. At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices."
Notably, teams, including 23XI, have been constantly negotiating with NASCAR regarding new revenue opportunities following NASCAR's renewed deals with broadcasters. Ultimately, the matter remained unsolved till Friday night, leading to 23XI's decision not to sign the Charter agreement.
"We would take a decent deal" - Denny Hamlin on 23XI Racing's stance
Days before 23XI Racing's official announcement regarding the NASCAR Charter agreement, Denny Hamlin spoke about his stance. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver stated that his team would want a decent deal, even if it wasn't necessarily fair.
"NASCAR's got their stance, and the teams have theirs. We'll just see where this goes over the next few weeks," Hamlin said during an episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast. "It's never been great, you know I think personally from 23XI's perspective, we would take a decent deal, not even a fair deal, just a decent one, and from our standpoint, it's got a ways to go."
NASCAR is yet to comment on 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsport's decision to withdraw from the new charter agreement.