Six months into a complex NBA investigation, the allegations surrounding Leonard’s endorsement deal and owner Steve Ballmer have only grown more tangled.
Six months after allegations surfaced that the Los Angeles Clippers orchestrated an endorsement deal to pay star forward Kawhi Leonard beyond the NBA’s salary cap limits, the league’s investigation remains open, active and deeply unresolved. At last week’s board of governors meeting, Commissioner Adam Silver neither addressed nor was asked about it. At All-Star Weekend in February, however, he described the probe as enormously complex, citing a bankrupt company, thousands of documents and a long list of witnesses still to be interviewed.
The investigation is being conducted by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, led by attorney David Anders, who previously oversaw the league’s inquiry into the Phoenix Suns. That probe, which began in November 2021, did not produce findings until September 2022. The Clippers investigation began in September 2025 and appears to be tracking a similar timeline.
What the Clippers and Ballmer are accused of
The core allegation is straightforward, even if the evidence around it is not. Prosecutors and investigators are examining whether Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the franchise arranged a $28 million sponsorship contract between Leonard and Aspiration, a green banking startup, as a method of compensating Leonard beyond what league salary rules permit.
Ballmer had invested $50 million in Aspiration through his personal LLC in September 2021. That same month, the Clippers signed a separate $300 million deal with Aspiration, making the company the founding partner of Intuit Dome. Six months later, Aspiration signed its deal with Leonard.
A former Aspiration employee, speaking anonymously, told the journalist who first reported the story that Leonard’s sponsorship arrangement was specifically intended to work around the salary cap. Ballmer has denied having any knowledge of or involvement in the deal. Three former Aspiration senior executives, including the company’s former chief financial officer, chief operating officer and chief technology officer, released a statement saying the deal was presented to them as a completed arrangement, signed without going through the company’s investment committee and over the objections of senior management.
What the contract shows
ESPN obtained the 19-page agreement between Leonard and Aspiration, signed in April 2022. It includes standard obligations for endorsement deals, covering autograph signings, community appearances, promotional events and one annual eight-hour filming day. Five independent player agents reviewed the contract language and largely found it unremarkable. The one clause that drew attention was a broad beliefs provision allowing Leonard to decline certain requested actions. Agents who reviewed the language were split on its significance, with some calling it a negotiating win for Leonard’s side and others noting they had never seen the provision worded so broadly.
Aspiration terminated its partnership with the Clippers in May 2023 after defaulting on payments. The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 with reported debts of $170 million. In bankruptcy filings, it listed the Clippers as its largest creditor, owed $30 million, and separately noted $7 million owed to an LLC connected to Leonard. Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg pleaded guilty in August 2025 to two counts of wire fraud after federal prosecutors said he defrauded investors and lenders of more than $248 million. His sentencing is scheduled for April 27 in Los Angeles federal court.
What happens when the investigation wraps?
The NBA’s process following the investigation is not simply Silver’s decision to make. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, if Silver decides to pursue discipline, the findings go to a neutral arbitrator jointly appointed by the league and the National Basketball Players Association. That arbitrator determines whether there is sufficient evidence to allow Silver to impose penalties, or whether the case lacks the support needed to proceed.
Ballmer has also been named in a civil lawsuit filed by 11 former Aspiration investors who allege they were defrauded. A hearing is scheduled for April 22 at Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The Clippers told ESPN they continue to cooperate with the investigation and look forward to its resolution. Leonard, who is averaging a career-high 28.1 points per game this season, has said the matter is not a distraction. The league has not commented publicly on a timeline.
What is at stake tonight?
While the legal machinery turns slowly in the background, the Clippers face a far more immediate test tonight at the Intuit Dome. The San Antonio Spurs, winners of 10 straight games and 15 of their last 16, arrive as 3.5-point road favorites with their eyes on Oklahoma City and the top seed in the Western Conference. The Clippers, at 39-37, are clinging to the eighth seed and cannot afford further slippage after losing to Portland on Tuesday.
Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 52 consecutive games, averaging 28.1 points this season. Victor Wembanyama enters having dropped 41 points in back-to-back games, averaging 24.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. For one night at least, the basketball will demand more attention than the lawyers.
SOURCE: ESPN