The Los Angeles Clippers are pushing back against allegations that the team and owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the NBA’s salary cap through a now-bankrupt company once funded by Ballmer.
On Wednesday, investigative journalist and former ESPN correspondent Pablo Torre reported that Clippers star Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a sustainability-focused financial services company, to be paid over four years from 2022 to 2025. The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025.
Torre’s investigation, aired on his podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” asserted that Leonard never publicly endorsed or even mentioned Aspiration.
Aspiration’s bankruptcy filings list Leonard’s company, KL2 Aspire LLC, as a creditor still owed $7 million.
Torre cited a cache of internal documents from Aspiration, indicating Ballmer invested $50 million in the company through his personal LLC in September 2021.
Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg agreed to plead guilty to defrauding investors and lenders in a $248 million scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a statement to KTLA on Wednesday, the Clippers denied any wrongdoing.
“Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false,” the team said. “The team ended its relationship with Aspiration during the 2022–23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government instituted its investigation.”
The team added that both Ballmer and the Clippers are prepared to cooperate fully with law enforcement.
Leonard, 34, joined the Clippers in 2019 after winning an NBA title with the Toronto Raptors. In January 2024, he signed a three-year, $149.5 million contract extension to remain with the team through the 2026–27 season.
The NBA has not yet commented on the allegations or confirmed whether it will launch a formal investigation.
KTLA is a local broadcast partner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
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