CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “My name is Michael Jeffrey Jordan, and I grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina.”
That is how the tall man in the navy blue suit introduced himself to a federal courtroom in Charlotte on Friday, as Jordan took the witness stand in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit brought by his race team, 23XI Racing, and one other.
In exactly one hour of testimony, Jordan calmly made a case for why NASCAR needed to have a better partnership with its race teams — and said as a lifelong fan of stock car racing, he felt he was the one to bring about change through this lawsuit stemming from recent charter negotiations between the league and its teams that resulted in what he saw as unacceptable terms.
In meetings with other team owners, Jordan said, he could see they’ve been “browbeaten for so many years trying to get change and just could not get to that point.”
“I wasn’t afraid” to challenge NASCAR with a lawsuit, he added.
“It needed to be looked at from a whole different perspective, and that’s why we are here” in the courtroom, Jordan said.
Like all witnesses, Jordan was asked to present some basic biographical information before his testimony. And, after needing to adjust his witness chair for height purposes, he did.
“Did you play any sports?” said Danielle Williams, one of the teams’ attorneys. “I’ve heard you were pretty good at basketball.”
“I used to be,” he said.
When Williams asked him to run through his career, Jordan mentioned his time with the Chicago Bulls but omitted the Washington Wizards.
“Did you play for any other teams?” Williams asked.
“I try to forget, but I did,” Jordan cracked.
Jordan spoke of driving to races as far away from Wilmington as Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, piling into the car with his parents and siblings for a road trip that amounted to a family weekend vacation.
Richard Petty was originally Jordan’s favorite driver because that’s who Jordan’s father rooted for, but Jordan eventually transitioned to rooting for Cale Yarborough — the “original No. 11,” Jordan said.
“Sorry, Denny,” Jordan said to his co-plaintiff, Denny Hamlin, who currently drives the No. 11.
Jordan and Hamlin became co-owners of their startup 23XI race team in 2020 in a “spur of the moment” manner, Jordan said, even though texts were shown from his financial advisor discouraging the move.
Curtis Polk texted Jordan he was doing something “risky to your brand and image” and risking tens of millions of dollars in the Jordan Brand, “but you want to do it so I’m doing my best to manage it.”
The original business plan showed Jordan only expected to see a $900,000 annual profit from the team, of which he owns 60 percent.
Jordan said he has invested approximately $35 million to $40 million into 23XI so far, including paying for a $28 million charter — which is now expired after the team did not renew it.
Jordan instructed his team not to sign the agreement for several reasons, including its unfavorable economic terms, a clause that prevented teams from bringing antitrust action and a take-it-leave-it ultimatum “that didn’t best suit 23XI.”
None of the “four pillars” the teams wanted in talks, including permanent charters, were even negotiated by NASCAR, Jordan said.
“If those are not put on the table, why are we signing the deal?” he said. “We looked at every other opportunity from that point forward, and this is where we ended up.”
But Jordan said he remains optimistic about NASCAR’s future if the business model can change — which would require breaking away from what he deemed an unfair economic model today.
“The thing I’m hoping for is you create more of a partnership between two entities,” he said. “If that’s the case, it becomes a more valuable business. If you can ever compromise on the things that matter, you can grow your business.”
Presented with evidence that showed 23XI attempted to influence negotiations by speaking to other teams about the terms of the deal, Jordan said that was because those teams needed to educate themselves on how much they were falling short.
Jordan wanted to “create an environment to explain to other teams you should be looking at this from a stronger economic position.”
“Not just to benefit the teams, but the league as a whole,” he added.
Earlier Friday, NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell and Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner Heather Gibbs also testified. O’Donnell concluded after a day of testimony Thursday about his role in the charter negotiations. Gibbs spoke of her efforts to try to get NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France, a co-defendant on the suit, to work more with the teams.
