Michael Jordan and his partner Denny Hamlin aren’t willing to bend their knees to NASCAR. The 23XI Racing and the governing body have been publicly feuding about their differences over the charter negotiations for a while now. Although the fine details of those talks are not known to the community, it’s safe to say that the two don’t see eye to eye on the matter.

This was evident from Michael Jordan’s business partner’s jab directed at NASCAR at the Darlington race. In response, NASCAR stated they were inching closer to signing the charter deal. As it turns out, the beef between the two was indeed revolving around the charter talks. And 23XI Racing has decided to take a stance of defiance against the France family without the support of premier teams.

Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan were the ones leading the charge for the Team Alliance for a better charter deal. An equitable share of the TV revenue, a demand for a permanent charter, and more involvement in the decision-making process were the sticking points. At first, it looked like the teams had a united front against NASCAR and could bargain a better deal for good.

However, it turns out NASCAR has been successful in creating a rift among them to get the deal done on their terms. As reported, they had set a deadline for the teams to sign the agreement before the Atlanta race. And 23XI Racing has chosen not to fall in line with the rest of the Cup Series garage. They even send out a public message stating their decision and demanding a fair resolution from NASCAR.

“23XI Racing decided not to 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.” The team shared this via their social media handles. This update has sent shock-waves across the community and soon the social media feed was flooded with comments and reactions.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and NASCAR fans react to 23XI Racing’s demands for a better charter deal

Bob Pockrass, adding to this news, shared an update on his X account stating FRM, who just bought a third charter, are with 23XI Racing. Bob Jenkins & Co. have also decided not to sign the agreement. However, there’s no clear picture of what would happen to the charters of these teams if they didn’t join the rest of the pack. The mere thought of Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing exiting the sport had Dale Jr baffled. “Holy 🐮,” he wrote via his X account.

Interestingly, Bob also stated that other teams, excluding 23XI Racing and FRM, had signed the deal. That means the powerhouse teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Team Penske have accepted the terms set by NASCAR. If Hamlin and MJ had the backing of these teams, the dynamics could’ve been different, forcing NASCAR’s hand to make a call. “Hope they’re not the only one, need a Hendrick or a Gibbs standing with them. No show without them,” a fan wrote.

NASCAR has been pushing away from its traditional boundaries in search of new audiences to grow its sport. Street racing, exhibition events in Los Angeles, and a scheduled international race in Mexico next year. It did feel like they were headed in the right direction. But losing out on an influential figure like Michael Jordan over a deal could prove detrimental to their image. “Hamlin & Jordan taking a STAND….good for them ! 50/50 NASCAR tells them to go pound sand but, they want & need Jordan….”

For a long time, NASCAR and the France family had their way of negotiating a deal with the race teams. But Jordan and his entourage have an extensive portfolio of handling multiple businesses. And the rest of the teams just might be rallying behind 23XI Racing’s stance secretly. At least, this was the theory shared by a race fan. “The thing that I think is taken for granted is 23XL is run by legit businessmen.. they have tons of experience in high-level negotiations. NASCAR has always had the it’s our sandbox mentality.. this could get sporty..”

It’s hard to understand NASCAR’s reservation of not allowing the teams control over their charters. On one hand, they boast about expanding their presence and becoming a global sport, but they keep relying on the old ways of doing business. This was called out by Denny Hamlin on his podcast show, “I think the world has changed since that mentality was set forth by Big Bill a long time ago.”

This behavior was perfectly summed up by a fan who helped non-NASCAR users online understand the rift between the governing body and the teams. Although, NASCAR has the charter system in place, teams do not have an actual control or ownership rights. Like a franchise in MLB or NBA would operate. “basically its nascar wanting so bad to be a stick and ball sport, but not wanting to be a stick and ball sport.”

The ball is now in NASCAR’s court, and it will be interesting to see what their response is to this act of defiance by 23XI Racing.