The NBA has launched an investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers amid allegations that a $28 million endorsement deal tied to star player Kawhi Leonard was used to skirt salary cap rules. It stems from a March 2025 bankruptcy filing of Aspiration, a now-bankrupt sustainability company that received $50 million in funding from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
According to a bombshell report from investigative journalist Pablo Torre, Leonard signed with Aspiration, but did little to no promotional work in return. League officials are probing whether the agreement amounted to a “no-show” deal designed to funnel money outside of his official contract.
The league hired the New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to conduct the investigation.
Aspiration has since dealt with accusations of fraud, and co-founder Joseph Sanberg has since pleaded guilty to defrauding multiple investors. That filing included a list of creditors to whom Aspiration still owed money. Among them? KL2 Aspire LLC, a corporation that lists Kawhi Leonard as its manager.
Kawhi Leonard investigation: NBA commissioner Adam Silver vows to ‘get to the bottom of it’ in Clippers case
Robby Kalland
Those filings show that Aspiration still owes Leonard $7 million. Yet Torre’s reporting did not find a single instance in which Leonard endorsed or even mentioned Aspiration, as one would expect in an endorsement arrangement. A number of other celebrities, including Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, did provide endorsements for the company.
A document Torre obtained, which Leonard signed, showed that Leonard was to be paid $28 million in cash over the course of four years between…
..
