MotoGP's future is uncertain. Critical negotiations over the sport's commercial framework, the Concorde Agreement, have collapsed. This leaves the driver market and team finances in limbo as a massive gap remains between Liberty Media and manufacturers.

MotoGP’s commercial framework and driver market are in limbo until Liberty Media and the manufacturers agree.

On Sunday morning, ahead of the race, there was a meeting between the manufacturers (MSMA) and MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MGPSEG), which was supposed to end with all parties in agreement, but there seem to be multiple parts of the Concorde that the manufacturers are unhappy with. 

The negotiations have been dragging on for a year now, but the circumstances are such that, apparently, there is a massive gap in the expectations of both parties to sign this contract. Finance is the primary area of concern where the manufacturers are looking for a Formula One-style model, which would lead to the teams receiving shares of the profit.

According to Motorsport.com, the latest proposal is around 8 million Euros, which is approximately 1 million more than the previous deal. This proposal falls way too short for the teams that have expressed their stance clearly to the MotoGP and Liberty higher-ups. 

But Why Won’t The Manufacturers Sign?

Apart from the low financial offering, teams also want a change in the ownership of grid slots. Currently, according to the agreement that expires at the end of this season, entries are controlled by MGPSEG.

Teams want that control in their own hands, arguing that owning the rights would help teams significantly increase their value when negotiations take place with sponsors and investors.

Apart from that, the draft also outlines obligations that teams will be required to fulfil for promotional and commercial activities. There is an increasing demand from MGPSEG that teams invest more in marketing, digital content, and hospitality, including providing functional prototypes of their bikes for promotional events. 

The teams want to be able to control more of their revenue, just like Formula 1. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds because the driver market is currently frozen, with only Marco Bezzecchi having a guaranteed ride for next season.

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi