NASCAR driver Brandon Brown signs '8-figure' sponsorship deal with LGBcoin despite ban on sponsor

NASCAR Xfinity series driver Brandon Brown is moving ahead with sponsor LGBcoin, signing a two-year sponsorship deal worth a reported "eight figures," despite the sponsor being rejected by the racing association.

While the exact dollar amount of the deal was not announced, LGBcoin said Brown is now a "holder" of the currency, with his spokesperson confirming to Fox Business that he is being paid in "both cash and coin."

"Brown will participate in events, videos, conferences and other activities promoting the product through 2023," Fox Business added.

"I'm working to achieve my own American dream," Brown said in a press release. "I'm humbled and thankful for LGBcoin.io's reaffirmed support for my professional journey and their commitment to maintain a patriotic message."

The news comes around a week after NASCAR rejected Brown's sponsorship with LGBcoin.

While Brown's team, Brandonbilt Motorsports, announced the sponsorship after receiving an email confirming the proposed sponsorship, NASCAR formally rejected the deal, stating that the team had submitted their application "without NASCAR understanding the full nature of the context around LGBcoin."

Brown's spokesman Maxwell Marcucci told Fox News that Brandonbilt Motorsports received explicit approval of the LGBcoin sponsorship on December 26.

"We received written approval on the sponsors from a NASCAR Racing Operations official on December 26, 2021," Marcucci said in a statement. "The team subsequently moved forward with an announcement only after being provided with this approval."

"The sponsor approval was unambiguous — the first four words of the email from NASCAR state, 'The sponsors are approved,'" the statement read. "The only feedback offered was related to minor graphic design changes to ensure legibility on the track at 170mph."

A NASCAR representative stated that "the team owner and driver were told on Nov 5 in an in-person meeting that no form of this derogatory and vulgar euphemism would be allowed on any paint scheme or sponsorship."

A NASCAR official with direct knowledge of the deliberations told The Washington Post that "NASCAR's formal decision was not a reversal … but the governing body's first and final word on the matter."

"The misunderstanding over the sponsorship thrust NASCAR into an unwelcome political spotlight for several days," The Washington Post reported. "While segments of stock-car racing fans relished the prospect of cheering a car emblazoned with an insult of the president, such messaging would have run counter to NASCAR's efforts to the sport from being used as a backdrop for partisan politics and divisive imagery."