Steiner explains why teams are forgoing a profit share with MotoGP
by Gerald Dirnbeck · AutosportManufacturers had pushed for a share of MotoGP's profits under the new commercial agreement, but MotoGP SEG ultimately succeeded in preserving the existing fixed-fee model
Tech3 CEO Guenther Steiner has explained why MotoGP's current fixed-fee arrangement with manufacturers will remain in place, despite all five bike brands pushing for a share of the championship's profits.
The MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MotoGP SEG), along with Ducati, Aprilia, KTM, Honda and Yamaha, recently agreed a new commercial contract for the years 2027 to 2031.
The contract was announced at a press conference at the Czech Grand Prix. It was described as a "landmark moment" for MotoGP and the six satellite teams have also signed this contract.
One sticking point during the tough negotiations, which dragged on for months, was the financial split. The manufacturers argued for a percentage share of MotoGP's revenue.
This model exists between Liberty Media and the Formula 1 teams. MotoGP SEG, however, always insisted on a fixed sum. In the end, a fixed annual amount of just under €8million per team was agreed.
Asked why was a percentage-based profit share ultimately dropped, Steiner told Autosport: "Logically, everyone wants more. We all always want more. That's just human nature."
The Italian-born manager took over the Tech3 team together with a consortium of investors who want to make money from their investment in MotoGP in the medium term.
But according to Steiner, there were good reasons to accept a fixed sum at this point in time. The EU Commission approved Liberty Media's purchase of MotoGP at the end of June 2025 and the plans to market the racing series better and grow it are therefore still in the early stages.
"I think the set-up is like this: this dynamic around profit-sharing came about because Liberty took over. But Rome wasn't built in a day either," Steiner said. "That's how I see it.
"Liberty took over last year. You can't just storm in on Liberty now and say, 'we want this and that'. First you have to show what you can do. And then, logically, once there's more for everyone, we can share it too.
"But right now, I think everyone is happy with what they're getting, and we should build on that. That's my opinion. And somehow a compromise was found.
"Now we all need to do a good job to get the sport to a point where there's more, where more money comes in. Right now, we're not there yet."
Steiner also believes a profit share could be risky: "That kind of move can backfire too. Imagine we all, as manufacturers or as teams, say we want a share of the profits.
"And then suddenly profits go down. Where does that leave us? Not very smart. Everyone always assumes things will just keep getting better anyway. But sometimes you have to take one step back before you can take two forward.
"When you weigh up that risk, I think the status quo is better. Let's leave things as they are for now, see how it develops, and then come back together and look at what's feasible for the next contract."
The next five years will show how Liberty Media, MotoGP SEG and the teams develop MotoGP further as a product. With 11 teams, a stable foundation has been created for that.
'Gigantism' in sport since the pandemic
Looking at the sporting world in general, a kind of 'gigantism' has spread since COVID-19.
The F1 calendar has been expanded to 24 races plus six sprints and MotoGP has grown to 22, with sprints on every race weekend. Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup was expanded from 32 to 48 nations and a total of 104 matches.
"I think that's society," Steiner reckons. "We all always want more, we consume more. But I think we simply have more technological means to consume more.
"And as long as people want that, I think you have to give people what they want. After the pandemic, it suddenly took off, almost without any limit.
"The limit is simply the human body, because you can't do any more than that. And why that's been the case since the pandemic, I don't know, but I just think the world is changing, evolving. We're constantly being given more.
"Easy access. In the past, people were happy just to have one TV channel where they could watch a race. Today you choose between iPad, TV, phone, goodness knows what else.
"I think it'll sort itself out when enough is enough. I always had concerns that at some point F1 would reach a saturation point, where people say, 'I don't want to watch 24 races, I only want 16'."
But Steiner believes Liberty Media has struck the right balance in F1, that this oversaturation hasn't happened, and that even 24 races are commercially successful.
"There are sprint races, there are street circuits, there are night races, there's all sorts. Every race has something special about it, and that's why people watch it," he said.
"If you had a cookie-cutter approach, I think it would be difficult to successfully market 24 races."
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