Brad Keselowski addressed previous negotiations he had with 23XI Racing and Denny Hamlin that fell through before he joined RFK Racing.

The fact that Keselowski had negotiations with 23XI Racing was brought up by Hamlin on his Actions Detrimental podcast following the news that Keselowski and RFK Racing are splitting at the end of this season and RFK Racing will likely buyout Keselowski’s ownership stake in the company.

Hamlin said, “I just think back to when he left Penske. I think I contacted Brad about driving at 23XI and Brad was very firm on ,’I want this amount of money and ownership.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, what?’ And he was very steadfast on that’s what he believes his value is. It was a lot. And, listen, who am I to say that someone’s worth something or is not worth that much.”

“I don’t know how the contract negotiations went between him and Penske, but it seemed like there got to an impasse spot where, from what I hear, that he was wanting a lot of money and they just were not willing to shell out that amount of money at the time. So then he went looking. And the opportunity came up at RFK. And they’re looking to resurge their program, and they were willing to pay, and they were willing to give him the ownership. And it seems like the control was something that he really, really wanted. He wanted control.”

Keselowski addressed Hamlin’s comments in a post to X sharing that he had already received the offer from what would become RFK Racing and he put it in front of Hamlin and 23XI Racing to see if they could match it.

“Since Denny put this out on his own accord, I can confirm that an offer was made for me to join his team,” Keselowski wrote. “At the time of offer (Roughly April 2021), RFR had gone to contract with their offer and it was ready to sign. I was very interested in the opportunity and offered them a quick match to gauge seriousness. Didn’t go any further so here we are…”

“The story of the deals that didn’t come together could feed families for decades,” Keselowski concluded.

Since Denny put this out on his own accord, I can confirm that an offer was made for me to join his team.

At the time of offer (Roughly April 2021), RFR had gone to contract with their offer and it was ready to sign. I was very interested in the opportunity and offered them a quick match to gauge seriousness. Didn’t go any further so here we are…

The story of the deals that didn’t come together could feed families for decades.

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) October 7, 2026

After he was accused of greed by one user, Keselowski replied, “Not how I saw it then or now Bird in the hand vs 2 in the bush.”

@XanderMXIX Not how I saw it then or now

Bird in the hand vs 2 in the bush.

— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) October 7, 2026

To Keselowski’s clarification, back in 2021, Roger Penske informed Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass that Keselowski had come to Penske and informed them that he had an ownership offer on the table, but they were unable to match it due to the way their business is structured.

Penske said, “And basically the final meeting we had, he said he had an opportunity that would give him ownership. And I said at that point we wouldn’t have that available.”

Earlier in the interview he explained why that was not possible, “He and I talked about this probably—. Over the years there was discussion that long-term he’d like to have ownership in the team. The way it was structured at Penske Corp. and its subsidiaries we have it just wouldn’t work out. And he understood that.”

Roger Penske says a piece of ownership into Team Penske wasn’t available to Brad Keselowski, the parting with Keselowski is amicable and that Keselowski will bring a lot of value to Roush. https://t.co/pO46kr65Hg

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 15, 2021