As arguably the greatest basketball player ever, Michael Jordan has always been about winning. The Hall of Famer has hated losing with a passion and, if he had a choice, would never settle for a tie.

But with Thursday’s settlement in the contentious lawsuit between NASCAR vs. Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, a tie was exactly what happened for both sides. While neither side can ultimately claim victory, there really was no alternative for all the litigants but to settle for the next best thing, namely, a tie.

And in this case, for the first time in his storied career, a tie ultimately wound up being as good – almost – as a total win for Jordan, co-owner Denny Hamlin, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, and NASCAR, as well. Both sides gave a little to get a lot in return, rather than run the risk of one side suffering a tremendous defeat.

NASCAR gave in to most of Jordan & Co.’s demands that were the backbone of their legal argument, including the crux of the suit, namely, Jordan et al believed NASCAR was in violation of antitrust laws.

It was a risky gamble for Jordan – who has long been a gambler both on and off the court – and his cohorts to go head-to-head up against NASCAR, which for more than 75 years since its founding in 1948, has almost always held all aces in the deck.

But if anyone could have defeated NASCAR or get the sanctioning body to concede to the legal arguments it faced, it was Jordan.

No, Jordan, Hamlin, Jenkins and their organizations were not outright winners of the suit. But how things played out not only averted what could have been a catastrophic loss if NASCAR would have gone down to defeat, it also allowed the sanctioning body to essentially save face and agree to most of what Jordan, etc., wanted in the first place: a perception of fairness and equality.

Jordan had metaphorically threatened to take his ball and go home if his side lost the case. He was already prepared to shut down 23XI’s operations if the judge and jury sided with NASCAR.

Fortunately, that did not happen and both 23XI and FRM will continue on unimpeded, allowing both to focus on what has always been their No. 1 goal of winning races and NASCAR Cup championships.

With the lawsuit no longer an issue, it’s back to focusing solely on racing

No matter how many times Jordan, Hamlin, and others spent the 2025 season claiming the pending suit wasn’t impacting the team during the recently completed season, it’s next to impossible to believe that the suit wasn’t a distraction.

Sure, Bubba Wallace’s big win in the Brickyard 400 was both his and 23XI’s biggest of their respective existences, but when you look at the overall performance of the team as a whole, minus Wallace’s Indy win, it was a rather dismal season. Ditto for Front Row Motorsports.

That’s why it’s not a stretch to say the lawsuit was a major part of the dismal performance for both organizations.

Now, with less than two months before the 2026 season begins, everyone can breathe easier and prepare for what they collectively hope will be a better year for all: for 23XI, FRM, and NASCAR.

If Jordan had left the sport, it would have had devastating consequences for NASCAR. For a series that considers itself just as much of a major sports league as the NFL, MLB or NBA, and pointed to Jordan’s involvement as a cornerstone of its ongoing outreach to attract more fans of color, if NASCAR would have lost Jordan, arguably the most popular athlete there ever has been, so much of the achievements it has made in recent years would have gone down the drain.

And with Jordan being nothing short of a national hero in North Carolina both as an athlete and personality, it’s very likely that countless NASCAR fans would have walked away if Jordan’s side lost the lawsuit, many potentially thinking that if that’s the way NASCAR treated Jordan, the fans were also being treated that way, essentially by default.

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23XI and Front Row Motorsports both get all their charters back in settlement

In settling with Jordan, 23XI and FRM, NASCAR gave the two organizations back what they had originally lost by NASCAR edict after failing to sign the charter agreement they were mandated to do so back in September 2024: their combined six charters. What’s more, by reinstating the charters to the two organizations, NASCAR made them permanent, meaning both organizations will probably never have to run the risk of losing those charters again if they once again run afoul of going against NASCAR’s our-way-or-the-highway way of doing business.

After the settlement was announced, Jordan told reporters it was the best and only way for both sides to get most – but not necessarily all – of what they sought. And Jordan was fine with that element of compromise.

“We understand we had to work together,” Jordan said. “Competition in every negotiation is one of the toughest things that you can do. I think you can say that we both compromised on both of our agendas, and I think we both came to the conclusion that it’s better for the sport.”

Ergo, we go back to where everything started: all Jordan and Co. wanted from NASCAR was a compromise in the first place. Had NASCAR been more open to that at the start, rather than a year of acrimonious buildup accompanied by often salacious rumors, embarrassing leaked texts and emails, innuendo and even downright insults, and then eight days of an oftentimes contentious trial – all that could ultimately have been avoided. NASCAR just had to be willing to compromise to begin with.

Outside the courthouse after the settlement was literally knocked out in two hours of time otherwise slated for more witness testimony, Jordan, flanked by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France, the only surviving son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., kept bringing up the fact that compromise was ultimately in everyone’s best interests, rather than worrying about who won or lost – perhaps the first time in Jordan’s life that he chose a compromising tie over battling for a win.

After all, with a compromise, you still get much of what you wanted in the first place, rather than run the risk of losing everything. In other words, something is better than nothing.

“I grew up watching [Jim’s] father build this sport,” Jordan said. “I didn’t want to have to tear it down. I don’t think he wanted it to be tore down. But I think in the calmer circumstances, we actually voiced what our interest may have been, collectively, and at the end of the day, we reached some type of compromise.

“And to me, that’s in every negotiation. That’s in every agreement, I’m very happy we stand on this step to move forward, as opposed to moving separate.”

To which France added, “I feel the same. We can get back to a focus on what we really love, and that’s racing. … We made a very good decision here together. We have a good opportunity here to grow the sport.”

Was it really a true settlement, or did NASCAR blink?

It would not be surprising if some critics and fans feel NASCAR blinked in the battle, that it found itself in a no-win situation. So rather than lose it all, NASCAR, in theory, cut its losses by acquiescing and giving in to some of Jordan and Co.’s demands.

Had NASCAR not agreed to the compromise and ultimately lost the suit, by some estimates, it ran the risk of potentially having to pay nearly $1 billion in damages if Jordan, 23XI and FRM had prevailed in the lawsuit’s outcome.

It also prevented Jordan or others, including Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Marcus Smith, from potentially starting their own competing racing series. Don’t forget, Smith’s father, SMI founder, the late Bruton Smith, threatened to start a rival series nearly 20 years ago when he felt NASCAR wasn’t giving his organization a fair shake.

Eventually, though, through compromise with NASCAR, the elder Smith backed down, and SMI has continued to thrive.

Hopefully, that will be the same case for Jordan, 23XI, FRM and NASCAR. Enough damage has been done. Now, like taking a wrecked race car back to the garage to make repairs, it’s time to begin repairing the lawsuit’s damage.