NASCAR join forces with LeBron James ally in $15 million venture

NASCAR has reportedly linked up with Klutch Sports Group as the racing series seeks a new $15 million sponsorship deal.

Klutch Sports was founded by company CEO Rich Paul and represents hundreds of athletes across a number of major sports leagues including the NBA, WNBA, NFL, and MLB. Undoubtedly, Klutch's biggest client is Los Angeles Lakers star and four-time NBA champion LeBron James, with whom Paul is a close friend.

Now, however, Klutch is increasing its involvement in racing, with the company set to serve as NASCAR's exclusive sales agency in finding a new title sponsor for the Xfinity Series, as per Sports Business Journal (SBJ).

It was revealed back in February that long-term partner Xfinity would stop serving as the title sponsor of NASCAR's second tier at the end of 2025, with Comcast vice president Matt Lederer saying: "11 years of being an entitlement partner and having the run that we’ve had has been amazing, and now I think it’s time for someone else to take that mantle and continue to grow the series to heights that we can’t even consider at this point."

NASCAR and Klutch seeking new sponsorship

According to the SBJ report, Klutch has already begun working on landing a new deal for the series, with talks underway with brands that are interested in taking over the mantle from Xfinity.

Whoever is set to land the naming rights will have to pay a healthy chunk to do so, though. Reports suggest that NASCAR is seeking $10 million annually in rights fees, plus a seven-figure annual spend on activation that would take a potential sponsor's yearly commitment to at least $15 million,

Interestingly, this NASCAR arrangement continues Klutch's foray into the world of motorsport, with another major deal announced recently when the group signed two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden.

Explaining the decision to get involved with NASCAR, and indeed racing more generally, Klutch Sports' head of global partnerships Andrew Feinberg told SBJ: “[Racing] is something Klutch has been interested in getting into and sinking our teeth in,"

"Motorsports has become incredibly popular, particularly over the last couple years with some of the content that’s come out, but it’s been a no-brainer for us to want to partner with Craig [Stimmel, NASCAR CCO] and NASCAR because of how partner forward this league has been historically, and it’s probably one of the more passionate fanbases that we’ve seen in sports to this day and will continue to be so.”

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