NASCAR Cup Series teams hire antitrust lawyer at heart of NCAA NIL battle ahead of Daytona 500

Ahead of the 2024 Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series teams have hired antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to represent them. Kessler, who has made headlines for his work regarding NIL and employment status in the NCAA, is one of the top antitrust lawyers in the nation.

According to a report from Jenna Fryer of the AP, the Cup Series teams told NASCAR that they had hired Kessler on Sunday, a day before the rescheduled Daytona 500.

An earlier report from Sports Business Journal said that Cup teams invited NASCAR to a meeting this weekend in order to talk about the charter negotiation process. The negotiation window closed at the end of January.

This is a bit of an escalation from the teams. Curtis Polk, an investor in 23XI Racing, longtime business manager for Michael Jordan, and representative on the Team Owner Council, told the Associated Press what the goal of this is in the minds of the owners.

“We want to make a deal, we are just looking for a fair deal,” Polk said. “There is no give and take. We’ve been told ‘There is all there is; there is no flexibility.’ That’s not a negotiation.”

Kessler will advise the teams in their negotiations moving forward. NASCAR prefers that meetings happen on a one-on-one basis with teams and the sanctioning body. However, the teams have formed a collective and are not looking to individually negotiate.

The France family doesn’t seem too keen on listening at the moment. With the charter agreement expiring at the end of this season, the clock is ticking.

Denny Hamlin believes NASCAR has a ‘monopoly’

In these negotiations, NASCAR has most of the leverage. They are the brand, the sanctioning body, and they own a majority of the race tracks. At least, a lot of the important ones. On the other hand, teams have their own brands, they have the drivers and talent, and they have the cars in their garages.

Still, the majority of the leverage lies with NASCAR themselves. Denny Hamlin says that it has ended up creating a monopoly.

“I think that this whole thing is such a monopoly that you kind of get shut down in different areas, you’re allowed in some places, but not in others,” Hamlin said.

The 23XI Racing owner and JGR driver has really taken a vocal role in NASCAR. That statement is a strong one, though. These negotiations are going to keep going on for a while it seems with NASCAR and the teams at different ends of where they think things should be.