“What a Debacle!”: NASCAR Faithful Recall “Rocky Start” That Muddled the Sport in 2001, With “Half the Field Ready to Pull Out of the Next Race”

Media companies and broadcasters pay top bucks to stream sports such as NASCAR. Why? The craze and the pull that these sports carry are massive and result in a substantial increase in revenue, especially through advertising. But when Fox finally got its hand on the prized NASCAR rights, things couldn’t have started on a worse note.

The relationship between Fox Sports and NASCAR began in 2001 after Fox Sports won the bid for the rights. That 2001 season is now 22 years in the past, and their relationship continues to flourish.

Amid all the fanfare that the new broadcasters came in, things started off on a belligerent note between the organization and Fox.

Fans of the older generation recall that day as clear as daylight and hated the way things were being managed. Here are some of their tweets –

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With the possibility of a new broadcaster looming large, fans will hope that all flows smoothly.

Is NASCAR on its way out from the Fox deal?

As per current reports from The Athletic, “The current contracts, which began in 2015, have Fox Sports paying NASCAR a total of $3.8 billion while NBC Sports will pay $4.4 billion under deals that expire after the 2024 season.”

That amounts to a massive $820 million a year. However, all parties to this contract, i.e. NASCAR, Fox, and NBC, are aware of the growth spurt the sport is witnessing and the potential it has to balloon over the next decade.

With that in mind and the fact that the current contracts are set to expire in 2024, the broadcasters will be sitting down with NASCAR to renegotiate their deal. Having witnessed the NFL agree to a $100 billion deal, and with the NBA also negotiating their media rights, NASCAR knows this is their opportunity to strike gold.

Front Office Sports reported that NASCAR is looking for a long-term deal, preferably on the scale of 8-10 years. Moreover, it will, at the minimum, seek a 10-15% premium which will translate into $900-$950 million a year.

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We must keep in mind that these are conservative figures. The belief is that NASCAR will try its best to get a $1 billion-a-year deal for itself.