The courtroom grew tense on Friday as Michael Jordan appeared before jurors, offering an hour of testimony in the antitrust lawsuit brought by his team, 23XI Racing, alongside Front Row Motorsports.
Although he built his reputation on basketball dominance, Jordan said his long standing love for NASCAR motivated him to step into the racing world with the hope of strengthening it. What he encountered instead, he explained, was a structure that left teams with little control over their own future.
Before Jordan spoke, the jury heard from Heather Gibbs, who represents one of the most established families in the sport. Her testimony centered on the pressure she said teams faced last fall when NASCAR required them to sign a charter extension on short notice.
According to her account, the teams had only a few hours to review a 112 page document.
“It was like a gun to your head: If you don’t sign, you have nothing,” she told the court, emphasizing how much it threatened the stability of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Jordan later confirmed that the rushed extension was a major reason 23XI refused to sign. He said NASCAR was unwilling to engage in meaningful discussion and insisted on a clause that prevented teams from filing lawsuits, which he believed violated antitrust laws. Jordan told jurors that the proposal offered little financial security and would have locked teams into a system he viewed as unsustainable.
He described entering NASCAR with optimism but quickly seeing a pattern in which long time owners felt pushed aside whenever concerns were raised. He recalled hearing from veterans who felt dismissed for years.
That realization is what drove him to take action.
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity,” Jordan said. “I wasn’t afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole… the sport needed to be looked at from a different view.”
Jordan also highlighted how NASCAR’s current financial model falls short compared to other professional sports.
Drawing from his experience in the NBA, he noted that players receive a significant share of league revenue, something he believes promotes long term health for teams and the sport.
“The revenue split was far less than any business I’ve ever been part of,” he said. “We wanted to move in that direction.”
The six time NBA champion then walked jurors through his personal commitment to 23XI Racing. He shared that he owns 60% of the team and has invested between $35-40 million.
That amount includes a million charter purchased in 2024.
“I’m pretty sure they know I love to win,” he said. “Denny convinced me a third driver improved our chances, so I dove in.”
Gibbs’s testimony reinforced Jordan’s concerns. She explained that Joe Gibbs Racing employs 450 people and survives solely on sponsorship and investment.
With the team intended to carry on her family’s legacy, she said permanent charters are essential to guarantee its future.
“It is absolutely vital to the teams for us to know we have security,” she testified. “To know what we’ve invested in is ours.”
As the trial moves into the next stage, NASCAR’s financial structure and its balance of power face unprecedented scrutiny.
