Image: Octopi Media.

Supercross legend Chad Reed has signaled his plans to re-enter team ownership as soon as 2028, continuing to be linked to a powerhouse partnership with basketball hall-of-famer Michael Jordan.

Speculation surrounding Reed’s future has intensified in recent weeks, with the 44-year-old departing his director of performance role at ClubMX Yamaha following this year’s Monster Energy Supercross season.

Since then, he has been linked to a potential partnership with NBA icon Jordan, who currently co-owns the 23XI Racing NASCAR operation alongside Denny Hamlin.

Appearing on the High Point Title 24 recap show in place of Ryan Villopoto, Reed confirmed to co-host Ricky Carmichael that there was substance to the rumors, with a prospective program potentially launching as early as 2028.

“Yeah, I think that wherever there’s smoke, there’s fire,” explained Reed. “I think the biggest thing is everything you just reflected on – I love racing, I love going to the races, and I love packing a bag every Thursday and Friday to get on a plane and go. I’m the most ridiculous human on earth in the fact that I’m the retired guy who misses all of those things.

“I don’t miss the racing anymore – it’s strange. I really thought that the racing would be what I missed the most, but the packing of a bag, going to Supercross races, and seeing… I haven’t been around my family for 25 years and I feel like the racing community is my family.”

Jordan has extensive experience in motorsport ownership, having fielded the Michael Jordan Motorsports AMA Superbike team from 2004 to 2013. He entered NASCAR as co-owner of 23XI Racing in 2020, with the team since recording multiple Cup series victories.

“Jordan would be a partner that I would absolutely love and be super-stoked [with], but there are multiple people that I’m talking to, with the hope and the goal of coming racing and going racing with a team in 2028,” he added. “I’m reading the thing that ‘they’re leasing factory Hondas’ – I can promise you that I will not be involved in any team that’s leasing any equipment.

“We will run a race team at the highest level and we’ll find partners that want to win races and go to the top. If that’s Michael Jordan and then aligned with a manufacturer, that’s the goal. So, again, I love it. I have a kid who absolutely loves it and wants to do it. I have a family that supports all things racing. So yeah, we’re planning [for] 2028.”

Reed is no stranger to running his own program, having spearheaded the high-profile independent TwoTwo Motorsports team between 2011 and 2015. As both owner and rider, he captured multiple race wins while also securing the commercial support required to sustain the operation.

After retiring from professional racing at the end of the 2020 season, which he also concluded within his own operation, Reed has since focused on helping pave the way for his children as they pursue careers of their own. He was also inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in October last year.