It was a relief to all when NASCAR and Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing came to a settlement agreement earlier this month to bring their bitter lawsuit battle to an end, but it might have come at a high cost to all parties, according to two legal experts.
In October 2024, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports sued NASCAR after refusing to sign up to the latest Cup Series charter agreement, accusing the series of anticompetitive and monopolistic practices.
After 14 months of back and forth in and out of court regarding several matters, the case finally went to trial earlier this month, and on day nine, all parties were able to reach a legal agreement, bringing the lawsuit to an end.
Of course, both parties wanted the very best representation they could, with 23XI and Front Row having hired from Winston & Strawn, while NASCAR used Latham & Watkins lawyers to form their defence.
How much did NASCAR and 23XI spend on lawyers?
However, the best legal representation comes at a cost. That's according to two legal experts recently quoted by Sports Business Journal.
When speaking to the outlet, Meegan Hollywood, an antitrust litigator at the Shinder, Cantor & Lerner law firm, estimates that NASCAR and its two teams spent as much as much as $50 million combined on legal representation throughout the case.
This seems like a staggering amount of money. However, a second legal expert, who remained anonymous in SBJ's article, claimed that the figure could actually be closer to double that amount ($100m).
Considering that the legal experts also claimed that NASCAR are likely to have paid somewhere in the region of 10-50% of the $365 million in damages that the teams were demanding as part of the settlement, you suddenly realise just what a costly venture this has potentially been for the stock car racing series.
I think we will all be relieved when we're back talking about things happening on the track, rather than off it, with the 2026 season kicking off with The Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stradium on February 1.
