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NBA legend Michael Jordan testified in his antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR on Friday and revealed why he decided to take legal action against the sport he says he grew up a fan of.
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity to understand that this is a real concern on our part,” Jordan said.
“I felt like I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the sport was concerned, it needed to be looked at from a different angle.”
Jordan’s long-awaited appearance followed dramatic testimony from Heather Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of race team owner Joe Gibbs, about the chaotic six-hour period in which teams must sign an extension or lose the charters that guarantee week-to-week revenue throughout NASCAR’s 38-race season.
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Michael Jordan, center, and Curtis Polk, left, co-owners of 23XI Racing, watch during qualifying next to 23XI Racing president Steve Lauletta, right, for a NASCAR Cup Series Championship auto race on Nov. 9, 2024, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher, file)
“The document was something in business you would never sign,” said Heather Gibbs, also a licensed real estate agent. “It was like a gun to your head: If you don’t sign, you have nothing.”
Charters are similar to the franchise model used in other sports. In NASCAR, it guarantees each charter car a spot in each race plus a defined payout from the series. The system was created in 2016, and during the more than two years of bitter negotiations over an extension, teams begged for the renewable charters to be made permanent for revenue stability.
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Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing, during the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 18, 2024 in Brooklyn, Mich. (Logan Riely/Getty Images)
When NASCAR refused to make them permanent, giving teams six hours in September 2024 to sign the 112-page extension, 23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse. They filed an antitrust suit instead, and the trial opened Monday to hear their claims that NASCAR is a monopolistic bully. 23XI is owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row is owned by fast-food franchiser Bob Jenkins.
Jordan testified that even with all that uncertainty, 23XI bought a third charter in late 2024 for $28 million.
“I’m pretty sure they know I love to win,” Jordan said. “Denny convinced me that having a third driver improved our chances of winning, so I dove in.”
Like other witnesses this week, Jordan described a NASCAR that refused to discuss options or potential changes to the charter system that he supports. He was asked why 23XI did not sign the extensions last autumn.
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“One, I didn’t think it was financially viable. Two, it said you couldn’t sue NASCAR. It was an antitrust violation, I felt. Three, they gave us an ultimatum that I didn’t think was fair to 23XI,” Jordan said.
“I wanted a partnership, and permanent charters weren’t even a consideration. The pillars that the teams wanted, no one on the NASCAR side even negotiated or compromised. They weren’t even open-minded in accepting those conversations. So that’s where we ended up.”
Jordan said he owns 60% of 23XI and has invested $35 million to $40 million in the team, which first fielded cars in 2021. Jenkins testified earlier this week that he has not made a profit since launching his team in the early 2000s and estimates he has lost $100 million.
