The Los Angeles Clippers are facing fresh scrutiny from the NBA after reports surfaced Wednesday alleging that the team and owner Steve Ballmer used a financial loophole to pay superstar forward Kawhi Leonard outside the league’s salary cap structure.
Pablo Torre, a podcaster and former ESPN contributor, revealed on his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast that Leonard was paid $28 million through a no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration, a now-bankrupt financial company that Ballmer partially funded. The revelation has prompted the league to open a formal investigation.
“We are aware of this morning’s media report regarding the LA Clippers and are commencing an investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
According to Torre, internal documents show that Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021 through his personal LLC. Weeks later, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with the company that included jersey patch sponsorships and rights to the team’s new arena.
In April 2022, Leonard’s LLC—KL2 Aspire—signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. A clause in the contract reportedly stated that the agreement would be void if Leonard ever left the Clippers, effectively tying the money to his tenure with the team. The documents also suggested Leonard had the right to decline any promotional work while still being paid.
One former Aspiration employee told Torre the payments “were to circumvent the salary cap.”
Aspiration declared bankruptcy in March 2025 and is now under federal investigation for fraud. Its co-founder, Joe Sanberg, recently pled guilty to wire fraud charges tied to a $248 million investor scheme.
The Clippers quickly responded with a statement rejecting the claims. “The notion that Steve invested in Aspiration in order to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard is absurd,” the team said.
This is not the first time the franchise has been linked to questionable dealings involving Leonard. The NBA fined the Clippers twice in 2019 for tampering and for public comments regarding Leonard’s health. The league also investigated allegations that improper benefits were requested during Leonard’s 2019 free agency. None of those earlier inquiries led to severe punishment.
Under the NBA’s 2023 collective bargaining agreement, teams found guilty of salary cap circumvention face harsh penalties, including fines of up to $7.5 million, the forfeiture of draft picks, voiding of player contracts, and suspensions of executives or team officials for up to one year.
The league has precedent for imposing such punishments. In 2000, the Minnesota Timberwolves were stripped of five first-round picks, fined $3.5 million, and saw their owner and head coach suspended for a season after the NBA uncovered a secret contract agreement with Joe Smith.
Leonard, 34, signed a three-year, $153 million contract extension in January 2024 that keeps him under contract with the Clippers through the 2026–27 season. His health and availability have long been a subject of debate within the franchise. The team is also fighting an ongoing lawsuit from former strength and conditioning coach Randy Shelton, who alleges he was wrongfully terminated for raising concerns about the management of Leonard’s injuries.
As the league investigates, the Clippers once again find themselves at the center of controversy tied to Leonard—the very player they built their championship hopes around.
