A $28 million endorsement deal linked to Kawhi Leonard and a company backed by Steve Ballmer is at the center of the probe.
WASHINGTON — The Los Angeles Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer are under investigation by the NBA after being accused of using a $28 million endorsement deal with Kawhi Leonard to get around following the NBA’s salary cap.
On his podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” journalist Pablo Torre reported that documents show Leonard was paid through Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company Ballmer had invested in, in what a former employee described as an effort “to circumvent the salary cap.”
Ballmer invested $50 million into Aspiration in September 2021, the same month the Clippers announced a $300 million sponsorship deal with the company. In April 2022, Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement through his LLC, KL2 Aspire. The deal allegedly included a clause that would void payments if Leonard left the Clippers.
A month before Ballmer’s investment into Aspiration, Leonard had signed a four-year, $176.3 million contract with the Clippers, which was the maximum allowed under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Torre said the endorsement allowed Leonard to decline work for Aspiration while still being paid.
“We are aware of this morning’s media report regarding the LA Clippers and are commencing an investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Wednesday.
The Clippers are denying any wrongdoing.
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration,” the Clippers said in a statement. “Any contrary assertion is provably false: The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022-23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations.”
There is no evidence that Leonard did anything to publicly endorse Aspiration.
Aspiration, which filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, is currently under federal investigation for fraud, after its co-founder, Joe Sanberg, pleaded guilty last month to wire fraud tied to a $248 million scheme defrauding investors and lenders.
Under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, teams can be fined up to $7.5 million, lose draft picks or have contracts voided if it is found they have intentionally avoided the league’s salary cap.
The Associated Press contributed to the report.
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