UPDATE 2 4-30-2024: Teams have been asking NASCAR to address four “pillars” that are important to them: Increased revenue to help the teams support their operations, making the charters permanent, having a voice in NASCAR decisions to avoid unexpected cost increases, and a share of revenue from new business opportunities.
With NASCAR already committing to increase revenue significantly from a new TV rights agreement signed last November, a major sticking point for now is the length of the charter extension. France has told teams he can only commit to them for as long as someone commits to him — which is seven years, reflecting the new TV deal. But teams want the charters — which have sold for as much as $40 million — to be permanent so there’s no risk of being left with a worthless investment (which currently would be the case if a new agreement is not reached by the end of this year).
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UPDATE 4-21-2024: Denny Hamlin, who is both an active driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and Cup Series team co-owner for 23XI Racing says NASCAR’s recent claim that a new revenue sharing agreement with teams is ‘very close’ is just positive messaging more than anything else.
Hamlin, speaking to reporters on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, says the four main asks from the teams have not yet been addressed.
“The four key elements that I haven’t seen NASCAR brought up and what our ask has been, they have not addressed those or haven’t conceded to those,” Hamlin said. “I think that it’s positive messaging more than it’s actually real.”
Brad Keselowski, who co-owns RFK Racing with Jack Roush and the Fenway Sports Group, also said he hasn’t heard anything to make him believe a deal is close.
— Sportsnaut —
ORIGINAL POST 4-17-2024: NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell called it the “never-ending question.” So how close are NASCAR and its teams on a charter agreement.
“We’re very close,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell was part of a panel Wednesday at the CAA World Congress of Sports in L.A. on how to stay competitive in an ever-changing industry.
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“Ultimately, when our owners look at where the sports potential is in terms of all the new media partners, the balance that we do have with linear and now being able to go with the Amazons, [TNT Sports], all the opportunities we have with content, I think they get it,” O’Donnell sad. “Everyone wants to sit down and argue over who’s going to split the money the right way, but ultimately we’ll get to a good place.”The original charter agreement was negotiated in 2015, the first year of NASCAR’s current 10-year media rights agreement that expires after 2024.
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Three people familiar with the teams’ thinking all said they disagreed with O’Donnell’s assessment of a deal being “very close.” One of the people noted that there’s meetings coming up between NASCAR and the Race Team Alliance in the next couple weeks, but that there’s still significant issues that are not yet resolved.