NBA Investigates Clippers Over Alleged $28 Million Kawhi leonard Endorsement Deal to Circumvent Salary Cap
Los Angeles, CA – september 13, 2025 – The LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer are facing an NBA examination following allegations that Kawhi Leonard received a $28 million endorsement payment from now-defunct financial firm Aspiration, possibly as a means to bypass the league’s salary cap. The report, initially published by ESPN’s Pablo Torre, has sent ripples through the league and raised serious questions about the Clippers’ financial dealings.
Ballmer, who personally invested $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021, has stated he was unaware of the deal between Leonard and the company and did not direct Aspiration to pursue it. However, the timing and connections are under intense scrutiny by the NBA.
What was Aspiration?
Founded in 2013 by Harvard alumni Joe Sanberg and Andrei Cherny, Aspiration positioned itself as a “socially-conscious and lasting banking services and investment products” company, boasting the slogan “Do Well. Do Good.” The firm aimed to differentiate itself from traditional banks by refusing to fund fossil fuel projects and offering environmentally-kind financial products like carbon-offsetting debit cards and fossil-fuel-free investment funds.
Sanberg, who held approximately 30% of Aspiration’s shares as of 2021, and Cherny, the company’s CEO for nearly a decade, attracted a high-profile investor base.
A Star-Studded Investor List
Aspiration’s appeal extended beyond the financial world, drawing investments from a constellation of celebrities including Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom, leonardo DiCaprio, Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, Cindy Crawford, and her daughter Kaia Gerber. The company also forged corporate partnerships with tech giants like Meta and Microsoft.
the Clippers and Aspiration: A Multi-Million Dollar Partnership
In September 2021, the LA Clippers announced a $300 million deal with Aspiration, naming the company the “first founding partner” of the team’s new Intuit Dome arena. The partnership included the creation of a “Planet Protection Fund” designed to allow fans to offset their carbon footprint with ticket purchases.
“Aspiration becoming our first founding Partner supports the stake we are planting in the ground to make Intuit Dome the most sustainable arena in the world,” Ballmer said in a statement at the time.
The Alleged Circumvention
According to Torre’s reporting, Ballmer, at Aspiration’s request, facilitated an introduction between the company and Kawhi Leonard in November 2021. nine months later, in April 2022, Leonard’s LLC, KL2 Aspire, entered into a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. A former Aspiration employee allegedly told torre the payment was intended to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap.
Further complicating matters, recent reports indicate Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong also invested nearly $2 million in Aspiration through a personal LLC in 2022, just nine days before Leonard received a $1.75 million payment from the company. Ballmer reportedly invested an additional $10 million into Aspiration shortly after.
What’s next?
The NBA is currently investigating
