Old names in new places dominated the storylines in 2022. Eli Tomac’s move from Kawasaki to Yamaha, Jason Anderson’s move from Husqvarna to Kawasaki, and Malcolm Stewart’s move from Yamaha to Husqvarna created the final top three in last year’s Monster Energy AMA Supercross standings. That was definitely the story of 2022. Most top riders sign multi-year deals, so there wasn’t much silly season movement for 2023. However, a ton of deals are up for ‘24, and with the successful team switches of ’22 still fresh in mind, don’t be surprised to see more moves in the paddock.
We could try to report all the news and rumors here, but the most accurate way to show the landscape is to literally tell you what riders have expiring contracts in 2023. Rumors are one thing but often the first thing you hear doesn’t end up being the final answer.
This List of free agents is quite extensive. In fact, of the top 450 factory riders, only Adam Cianciarulo and Christian Craig, who signed multi-year deals that began in 2023, started this season with 2024 deals in place. That’s it! The rest? Well, check The List.
450 Class:
Eli Tomac: Eli is essentially series-to-series and year-to-year now with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing. He first planned to only race Monster Energy AMA Supercross this season, but he’s feeling good and has decided to rejoin the AMA Pro Motocross Championship and try to defend his 450 National Championship, plus race the first ever SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) events in September. It’s good news to see Eli stick around for the rest of this year.
However, racing to the end of ’23 begs the question for 2024. Will Eli choose to race again? Maybe another supercross-only deal? This is a massive, massive silly season puzzle piece.
Cooper Webb: Cooper’s KTM deal is up. Does he return or move elsewhere?
Chase Sexton: Sexton’s Honda deal is up. Does he return or move elsewhere?
Ken Roczen: Obviously, Kenny’s Suzuki deal with Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki (under the HEP Motorsports Suzuki umbrella) was a late announcement and a bit of an experiment for both rider and team. Seems like it’s gone pretty well, so you could see Kenny signing a longer deal and remaining with this squad for a while.
Justin Barcia: A founding member of the Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/GasGas team, Barcia is just about re-signed with a new deal for 2024-2025. Said Barcia on Saturday in Glendale:
“Contract is… [Laughs] TK [Tyler Keefe] was here today actually. It’s cool to have him at the race. And he said he got it [contract] in his inbox. So hopefully we get that wrapped up next week. But, the plan is to do two more years with them [GasGas]. And yeah, we’ll see where that brings. It’s hard to step away from the sport, especially when the riding is so good. And definitely want to do another two years and if I can do some more, so be it.”
Jason Anderson: Anderson’s Kawasaki deal is up. Does he return or move elsewhere?
Aaron Plessinger: Plessinger’s deal with Red Bull KTM is up. Yes, just about everyone’s deal is up!
Christian Craig/Adam Cianciarulo: You have to go to eighth and ninth in 450SX points to find guys who entered 2023 with multi-year deals. Craig is back with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna next year and Cianciarulo is back with Monster Energy Kawasaki.
Justin Hill: Hill is tenth in 450SX points! His return to racing has been good with Monster Energy/Team Tedder, plus he has an FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX) deal in place with Bud Racing Kawasaki.
Other notables:
Justin Cooper: Cooper’s main focus for ’23 is one more run at the 250 Pro Motocross Championship. Then it’s time to become a full 450 guy. You guessed it: Justin Cooper is a free agent.
Dylan Ferrandis: Free agent.
Colt Nichols: Free agent.
Malcolm Stewart: Free agent.
Marvin Musquin: Free agent.
250 Class:
There’s also expected to be some movement based on the 250 class. As mentioned, what will Justin Cooper do for 2024? Will Hunter Lawrence stay 250 or move up to a Honda 450 alongside Jett Lawrence?
Then we hear rumors about other notable free agents, including Jo Shimoda and Levi Kitchen, for example. Often though, what you hear at first ends up changing when it’s all done. As an example, very few saw Tomac departing Kawasaki for Yamaha at this time two years ago. Many, many puzzle pieces yet to get sorted in what might be the wildest silly season in quite some time.
