The NBA “vetted and approved” the $300 million sponsorship deal between Aspiration and the Los Angeles Clippers more than eight months before the company struck a separate endorsement agreement with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA is now investigating the latter agreement under claims of salary cap circumvention.
The latest reporting on the case comes via Baxter Holmes and Bobby Marks at ESPN and dives into the initial sponsorship deal between the Clippers and Aspiration, a “green bank” company that team owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million in around the same time. From the report:
Two sources with direct knowledge of the arrangement said the Clippers submitted the 23-year agreement to the NBA for approval before it was announced in September 2021, as required under league rules because it contained a jersey patch component, the sources said…
“Teams vet their own sponsorship partners and negotiate their own sponsorship agreements,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement to ESPN. “Given the jersey patch’s inclusion on player jerseys and its level of exposure across game telecasts, the league reviews and approves jersey patch arrangements pursuant to league rules that are intended to avoid potential brand issues or conflicts with league partnerships.”
The other thing the league looks into is the viability of the company — can it live up to the financial obligations of the sponsorship deal? On paper in 2021, Aspiration looked like it could, which is why Ballmer and other billionaires were investing in it. Within a couple of years, Aspiration had fallen apart, the sponsorship deal with the Clippers had been canceled, the company had filed for bankruptcy, and its CEO Joe Sanberg had pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
All of this is separate from the allegation that Ballmer and the Clippers used Aspiration and its $48 million endorsement deal with Leonard to skirt the salary cap and get the Clippers star more money, an allegation investigated and made by the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast. The NBA has hired the law firm of Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate the claim that this was a “no show” endorsement deal — there is no public evidence at this point of Leonard having done any work, made any appearances or done any social media posts for Aspiration — used to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap and get more money to Leonard (and his family, including his uncle and business manager Dennis Rodgers). There is a lot of circumstantial evidence for the Clippers to explain, including Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong investing $2 million in Aspiration in late 2023 — when it was clear the company was failing — and Leonard getting a $1.75 million endorsement check days later.
Through all of this, the Clippers and Leonard have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
“I mean, the NBA is going to do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing,” Leonard said at Clippers media day. “And, yeah, I mean, that’s it. We invite the investigation … I understand that full contract and the services that I had to do. Like I said, I don’t deal with the conspiracies or the clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on.”
That same day, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said, “We feel very, very confident we’re on the right side of this.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said the burden of proof is on the NBA to show there was something amiss. The league’s investigation is expected to last months, very likely into 2026 (the ESPN report suggests it could take until after the 2026 NBA playoffs). Whatever the investigation finds, Silver must bring it to an independent arbitrator — agreed to by the NBA and the players’ union — who will determine the next steps and whether Silver has enough to punish the Clippers or not.
Until then, expect the leaks of information to continue.