Michael Jordan-Jeff Gordon Led Alliance Issues $18 Million Ultimatum to NASCAR; Threaten New Series in Case of Rejection

Published 01/31/2023, 1:47 AM EST
It seems the raging conflict between NASCAR and RTA is entering its ugly stage. Over the course of the last year or so, the big teams, or Racing Team Alliance, have made their demands pretty clear to the sport through different methods with varying degrees of immediacy and public spotlight.
However, now, perhaps RTA is ready to take the matter right out in the open, and make the conflict and difference of opinion as clear as possible, should what they’re asking for isn’t given, which is more revenue sharing.
The teams have been pushing the matter of revenue sharing a little further in the last few months.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
And at this point, they are offering a new offer – listen to us, or watch us race outside of NASCAR.
Jeff Gordon, Michael Jordan, and other big names could have races outside the norm
Even though NASCAR has admitted they are considering listening to the teams for their demands, the teams don’t think it’s being done in the way they want, or as quickly as they like.
Consequently, according to Sports Business Journal, “they’re considering staging offseason exhibition races to supplement their usual income.”
“The best deals are ones when everyone feels a little bit of pain, and a bad business deal is when one side feels they got a better deal than the person at the other end of the table,” said Jeremy Lange, the former president of defunct NASCAR team Leavine Family Racing, who now is the co-founder and partner of The Surge Connection marketing agency.
“You want both sides feeling like they could have gotten more but are happy with what they got, and I’m not sure they’re there yet.”
What are the NASCAR teams protesting about and demanding?
In simple terms, the teams want more revenue sharing, more money from NASCAR. Currently, the sport gets $8.2 billion along with its media deal with FOX Sports and NBC, which will expire next year. This stream of revenue is one in which the teams want a bigger share, too.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
As of now, the teams get only 25% of the revenue, which comes out to be $8 million-$10 million per car over a year if their performance was good in that year. However, the teams are arguing that the amount of money it takes to run a top-performing car is almost double the money they’re getting.
MARTINSVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 30: Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet lead the field to the green flag during the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Playoff Xfinity 500 on October 30, 2022 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: OCT 30 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff – Xfinity 500 Icon221030717500
So for the upcoming deal in 2024, the teams want a bigger share of the pie, a number in the ballpark of $16 million to $18 million from the eight to ten million they are getting now.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Whether or not NASCAR actually bends down under this demand, or whether the teams explore other avenues outside of NASCAR, only time will tell.