NASCAR and Cup Series teams extend deadline for charter negotiations

As the talks continue, NASCAR and the Cup Series team owners have decided to extend their window on charter negotiations. The prior negotiation window actually expired in December of 2023. However, the new window should go through January.

The news, reported by Sports Business Journal‘s Adam Stern, comes amid worries that a deal won’t be done soon. Once the TV deal for 2025 and beyond was finalized, many expected charter negotiations to follow.

That has not happened at this time.

The charter negotiations determine how the Cup Series revenue distribution works. There is also a debate between NASCAR and team owners over whether or not the charter system should remain permanent. There are 36 chartered teams who receive TV revenue, are guaranteed a spot in the 36 Cup Series points-paying races, and other benefits.

According to the SBJ report, NASCAR has made an offer to the teams that would give them 42% of the TV revenue. 42% of $1.1B per year is a lot of money. But, it takes a lot to run a Cup Series team. Teams currently receive 39% of revenue under the active agreement.

There are other incentives for the teams in the new deal NASCAR has offered. That includes changes to the Cup Series schedule or the car. Plenty of teams have complained about the Next Gen car, single-source suppliers, and more in the last couple of years.

NASCAR charter negotiations could lead to salary cap

When it comes to billions of dollars, folks want to get everything right. NASCAR teams want more money to help operations. They also want NASCAR to commit to the charter system in order to protect their investments.

Let’s not forget Spire Motorsports purchased the Live Fast charter for $40 million in 2023. This is a staggering amount of money to negotiate over. Among changes to the revenue agreement could include a salary cap for teams.

NASCAR is an interesting sport, there aren’t a lot of hard figures for driver salaries, unlike other sports. So, if a salary cap is implemented, could we hear more about what a driver is making each season to drive for a Cup Series team?

Extending the negotiating window means one thing, there is no agreement yet. However, NASCAR and the teams are hard at work on the charter negotiations. The future of the sport could change in 2025.