NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit has taken interesting turns as the trial proceeds, with NBA legend and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan chipping in his opinion on the entire situation. On the trial’s fifth day, he stepped on the witness stand and spent quite a long time answering questions, suggesting some changes that the sport needs to go through.

While the sport’s authorities continue to defend their arguments, Jordan hinted at how the drivers and teams are the actual risk takers in the sport, putting the France family and NASCAR executives in a difficult position.

Michael Jordan’s comment on risk-taking puts NASCAR in a difficult position

The lawsuit, filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, alleges monopolism from NASCAR and its executives. They claim that the sport is not fair when it comes to the share of the TV broadcasting deal, which has put teams under pressure and led them to losses. Although most teams earlier did not sign the Charter Agreement for this year, they ended up doing so after NASCAR pushed them towards a deadline.

Commenting on the same, Jordan told the court that 23XI refused to sign the Agreement because it wasn’t economically viable for the team, co-owned by Denny Hamlin. He further drew some comparisons from the NBA, claiming that both the sport and the teams should share equal responsibility for growth. He also cited a number that the teams expected within the Agreement.

“We never thought we would get what basketball gets but we thought we could get closer to 45 percent,” Jordan said.

Putting the NASCAR executive through a tough time, Michael Jordan also claimed that the drivers and teams are the potential risk takers of the sport, while the authorities “sit in Florida.” He also commented on the sport’s CEO.

“I never saw Jim France drive a car or risk his life,” he added. “Give a little more credit to those who put their life on the line.”

Despite the issues both 23XI and FRM had with the Charter Agreement, they were initially allowed to race as Chartered teams this year. This also meant that they could continue the transfer of their charter ownership from Stewart-Haas Racing.

However, this appeared odd, considering they did not sign the Agreement.

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Jordan explains 23XI’s signing of a third charter

As Stewart-Haas Racing announced its closure at the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, 23XI and FRM announced their interest in purchasing their two charters. These charters give the cars a guaranteed entry in all 38 races of the season. After the teams were granted the preliminary injunction to run as chartered teams this year, they completed the transfers. However, it was rather odd, considering they had not signed the Agreement.

Michael Jordan explained that signing a third charter at such a time was only to increase the team’s chances of winning.

“There was a discussion between me and Denny about being successful… people who know me know I like to win and I will pursue anything to win and getting a third charter improves our chance to win the championship,” he explained.

However, the teams suffered a major blow in June, when Judge Kenneth Bell overturned the decision and rejected their preliminary injunction. This meant that both teams ran as open teams for the rest of the season, having to qualify for each race. Moreover, this would have resulted in bigger losses, considering they were not getting a share of NASCAR’s profits.

While there has been no clear view on how the trial seems to be proceeding, Michael Jordan’s comments towards the France family and NASCAR executives have seemingly shaken up the court. But will it be enough to help the teams prevail in the lawsuit?