LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard NBA, FBI investigation

MJ Jorge, Contributor & Noah Wilson, Contributor

Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard has been accused of receiving $28 million from Aspiration, a sustainability company based in Los Angeles, USA. 

The company was founded in 2013 by Andrei Cherny and Joseph Sanberg, and it officially opened for negotiations in 2015. Additionally, the key focus for the company was growing and planting trees to improve the environment. 

In 2021, they had social media promotions and endorsements from high-profile celebrities like actor Robert Downey Jr. and Canadian artist Drake. Sanberg was arrested in March of 2025 for two wire fraud charges.

Leonard signed with the Clippers in 2019 after giving the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship in franchise history. Leonard had a list of demands, many of which came from his uncle, Dennis Robertson, who acted as his representation during contract negotiations.

According to Sports Illustrated, some of the demands included trading for NBA star Paul George, a stake in ownership for the Toronto Maple Leafs and about $10 million from sponsorships.

During that same summer, the NBA conducted an investigation with the Clippers right after they signed Leonard to see if they gave excessive benefits, but they did not find any evidence and concluded the investigation. 

Still, the NBA decided right after that they would reopen the investigation if they found any relevant or recent evidence in the near future. 

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer agreed to sign an Aspiration sponsorship of over $300 million in September of 2021 for not just naming rights in the arena, but also a jersey patch. Two months later, Leonard also agreed to sign with Aspiration, with the terms of their deal indicating that the two-time champion would perform a “no-show job” and be paid separately.

Apart from the potential legal issues with a deal like this, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the NBA owners agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that extends through the 2029/2030 season, which introduces a series of salary cap limits for teams, along with potential fines, loss of future draft picks and a disadvantage in signing free agents. 

Leonard’s agreement with Aspiration creates a multitude of problems because it is a violation of the CBA for NBA players to receive money in this format, especially under the context of using under-the-table-style deals to circumvent the league’s salary cap.

The Clippers are one of the top spending teams and have the richest owner in the league, with a salary cap hit of over $204 million USD for the 2025-26 season. Despite this, Leonard signed a contract extension in 2024 worth $70 million less than the maximum amount he was eligible for.

If the Clippers are found guilty of circumventing the salary cap and illegally compensating the former defensive player of the year, other teams are put at a competitive disadvantage, especially smaller-market teams that don’t have as much money or interest. 

The last team that was punished for manipulating the cap was the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1999. Their penalties involved losing five future picks, paying a fine of up to $3.5 million, the voiding of a player’s contract, and both the general manager and head coach being removed from the team temporarily. For the Clippers, however, the consequences may be even worse.

Recently, former ESPN employee and acclaimed investigative journalist Pablo Torre took a deep dive into the Clippers’ partnership with Aspiration, and discovered that Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with the company in April 2022 through his LLC, KL2 Aspire, a deal that would be voided if he left the Clippers.

However, Leonard was not even mentioned in any social media posts. Torre then proceeded to find over 3,000 corporate documents, revealing that Aspiration did not require Leonard to make any public appearances for the company. 

Most endorsement deals require the athlete to sign thousands of pieces of merchandise, make routine public appearances, participate in marketing campaigns, and post on social media, to name a few duties. However, Leonard escaping that responsibility, secretly receiving compensation and then taking a $70 million pay cut on his extension in the context of these allegations has raised the eyebrows of the NBA, who have opened their own investigation into the Clippers organization along with collaborating with the FBI on their investigation of Aspiration.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne conducted an interview with Ballmer after the news broke. The former Microsoft CEO denied the allegations of no-show payments from Aspiration despite recent news that Leonard received more than $40 million instead of the alleged $28 million initially.

In this interview, Steve Ballmer made it clear that his Clippers organisation, along with Leonard, are innocent of any wrongdoing and claimed to be victims of Aspiration’s fraud.

“We, the Clippers, have abided by the salary cap circumvention rules because that’s the right thing to do,” Ballmer said.

Ballmer then went on to make a bold statement that he was “conned” and that he had no control over these negotiations, nor did he allegedly have any say over Leonard’s contract with Aspiration.

Whether or not this statement is true, the NBA has launched their own independent investigation to figure out whether or not this was a legitimate sponsorship or a backdoor scheme to keep Leonard with the Clippers.

In this investigation, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated, “they need to find evidence, not just appearance, before imposing sanctions.”

For the NBA, the most critical step is determining if Ballmer or the Clippers’ front office intentionally structured Leonard’s deal in a way that circumvents the salary cap. 

Still, even if Ballmer did have a small stake in the matter, the question remains—did he or the Clippers’ front office, or even Leonard himself, push for Aspiration for a “no-show” job? 

Along with that key piece of evidence, the league and FBI investigators need to ascertain whether or not Leonard did any promotional or performative work for Aspiration. 

In order to find that, the NBA will investigate through internal emails or other forms of communication showing the terms of the company’s contract, specifically talking about certain clauses or claims that affect Leonard’s relationship with this company. 

If the Clippers are indeed guilty of these allegations, consequences can range from loss of draft picks, hefty fines, lengthy suspensions, or even the voiding of Leonard’s contract. Alternatively, the NBA could impose unprecedented consequences, setting an example for future teams looking for ways around the CBA and salary cap. 

Those implications have the potential to set the Clippers franchise back years, even decades, especially if they lose their franchise player along with future draft capital that would keep their team competitive for years.

As the investigation continues to unfold, the future of the Clippers and the illustrious legacy of Kawhi Leonard are in question. The NBA has made it clear that, if these allegations are proven true, the fallout could be harsher than we have ever seen in NBA history. 

This investigation could also reshape how the league handles contracts, endorsements, while also giving all other 29 franchises a chance at a superstar with Kawhi Leonard potentially hitting the free agency market as we near the start of the season. 

Until a verdict has been reached, however, all eyes remain on the NBA and Adam Silver as they continue their investigation.