The NASCAR team that Michael Jordan co-owns claimed on Saturday that it missed a deadline to sign a new charter agreement with the governing body because it felt that it was not given a fair chance to negotiate a better deal.

The Jordan-owned two-car team, which also includes Jordan right-hand driver Curtis Polk and active driver Denny Hamlin, disclosed that teams had until Friday night, NASCAR-mandated, to sign new charter agreements that span 2025 through 2031.

23XI stated in a letter to NASCAR that its Toyota organization will not sign the contract. The team’s announcement was made the night before NASCAR’s playoffs got underway, as rumors in the garage on Saturday suggested that all but two Cup Series teams had signed the new contracts. The opposing team thought that the midlevel team without Jordan’s influence, Front Row Motorsports, is supported by Ford and is the one holding out.

Because of the delicate nature of the lengthy talks, three individuals who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity claimed that the teams felt “threatened and coerced” by NASCAR to sign the extensions or face them being rescinded. To avoid jeopardizing their agreements, they only talked under the condition of anonymity.

Polk pinned a piece of paper that said, “Please don’t ask me about my Charter,” to the back of his shirt only last week. I don’t want to lose it by criticizing NASCAR. When Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing won the regular-season championship at Darlington Raceway, he was wearing it, and the team claimed that no one from NASCAR bothered to give him the trophy.

In its statement on Saturday, 23XI stated, “We informed NASCAR what issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline.” “To address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love,” we are interested in having positive conversations with NASCAR.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, the playoffs get underway.

“We at 23XI Racing are steadfast in our belief that NASCAR ought to be run by fair and equitable procedures, and we will continue to compete at the greatest level,” the team stated on Saturday.

Currently, NASCAR has 36 charters for a 40-car field in the elite Cup Series each week. Depending on each team’s charter value, a share of the television package and payouts, as well as admission into all 38 races each season for the 36 cars, are guaranteed by a charter.

Four charters are still with NASCAR, reserved for a potential manufacturer to join Toyota, Ford, or Chevrolet in the Cup Series. NASCAR said in a summer proposal that those charters go to NASCAR and that the France family, which oversees the series, should be.