Dale Earnhardt’s popularity was at its peak in the 1990s, but despite that, a potential partnership with the 1996 Olympics almost fell through. On a 2023 episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast,Dale Jr Download, when Kelly Earnhardt and Mike Davis spoke with Joe Mattes, who managed business affairs for Earnhardt Sr. in the late ’90s, some fascinating insights came to light.
Mattes, the senior vice president of business and strategy at JR Motorsports, was responsible for guiding the particular deal. By that time, Earnhardt had clinched seven championships and his team was keen on featuring the Olympics brand on his car, hoping to boost the brand’s visibility and share in the resulting royalties. However, negotiations hit a roadblock when Olympic officials set the fee for a collaboration at a hefty one million dollars.
Mattes recounted the challenging negotiation phase, noting how the steep financial demands nearly derailed the partnership. He said:
“For the Olympics, that guy looked at me and he said, “Here’s the deal, I don’t know where you’re from or how big you think Dale Earnhardt is,” he said. We’ve been around a little bit longer than Dale Earnhardt and this is the Olympics and this is pay to play. Nobody sits in this office to do us a favor.” [0:55]
He added:
“I said, “Okay what’s the cost to play?” He said, “you come back here with a million dollars and that’s a prepaid advance, we have to earn that out and I’ll give you a deal.” [1:27]
Following this meeting, Mattes said, he was hesitant to bring up the issue with Earnhardt. When they finally met, Earnhardt was eager to hear how the negotiations had gone. Upon learning that he would have to fork over a million dollars, Earnhardt’s response was:
“You dumb Yankee? What the heck! I mean I have to give a million bucks up front? […] No, that’s not going to happen.” [2:29]
