Michael Jordan NASCAR LAWSUIT uncovers stunning NBA statistic

A federal antitrust suit filed against NASCAR by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has uncovered a stunning statistic.

The Michael Jordan-owned Nascar Cup Series team filed a lawsuit against the sport earlier this week, looking to break up alleged monopolistic practices by NASCAR.

READ MORE: Michael Jordan team SUE NASCAR after 'very serious threat'

23XI Racing allege that TV money within the sport is not shared anywhere near as equally as it is in other major sports across the US.

The team are co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who has not shied from sharing his thoughts on the sport via social media.

NASCAR lawsuit

Now, amid the legal battle which was started on October 2, a stunning statistic has emerged linking Jordan's beloved NBA with the racing series.

According to Curtis Polk, Jordan's business manager and another co-owner of the 23XI Racing team, the amount of money that drivers in the series get compared to how much the sport is making is just 3%, way behind other major sports.

He claims that in the NBA, 49% of the money generated gets passed down into players' salaries, and has called for a fairer system in NASCAR.

"I didn’t really understand all of the ways in which the sport was governed and what the economics were from day one," Polk told Autoweek. "It was something, obviously, that I learned as time went on.

"When you compare it to the other sports, even in this new Charter agreement with what gets Ballyhooed as this increase in revenues for the teams, the teams are getting roughly over $400 million next year in a sport … that generates close to $3 billion a year.

"So, the teams are only sharing in the neighborhood of 13% of the overall pot that the sport is generating.

"Now, let’s look at the drivers. The drivers, 36 of them, probably average about $3 million a driver—a $100 million (total)—on a sport that generates roughly $3 billion of revenues. That's 3%. Compare that to basketball where the players make 49%. Football where it’s in 40%.

"It’s incredible that the people who go out there and entertain the fans and compete every weekend and risk their lives are only getting 3% of the gross revenues of the sport. As those things came to my knowledge, it was apparent that the system needed to be overhauled."

GPFans has approached NASCAR for comment.

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