The NBA approved a deal for the Clippers and Apiration: the embarrassment continues with Kawhi Leonard
New information suggests that the league knew about the agreement between the Angels and the company despite Adam Silver denying it
In 2021, the NBA approved a $300 million sponsorship deal between Los Angeles Clippers and the financial company Aspiration, months before the same company signed a separate contract with star player Kawhi Leonard. This second agreement has sparked an investigation for possible salary cap violation in the league, as we have been reporting for weeks.
Sources close to the case confirmed that the Clippers submitted the 23-year contract with Aspiration to the NBA before its announcement in September 2021, complying with rules that require prior approval for agreements including the advertising patch on the jersey. The contract also included the brand's presence in the team's new stadium in Inglewood.
In April 2022, Aspiration signed an additional sponsorship agreement with Leonard worth $28 million, which was not reviewed by the NBA because the collective bargaining agreement does not oblige the league to supervise individual contracts between players and companies. The ongoing investigation seeks to determine if the Clippers owner, Steve Ballmer, used that parallel contract to circumvent the salary cap and indirectly compensate the player.
Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, initially admitted he was unaware of Aspiration, although later clarified that he was aware of the brand. The league does not require reviewing all commercial agreements of the franchises, but those involving jersey patches or visible signage on broadcasts must receive explicit approval.
According to the NBA's operations manual, teams must notify and obtain league authorization before announcing such a sponsorship. The document even specifies the size and location of the patch, including clauses that allow terminating the contract if the sponsor is involved in any scandal affecting the team's or league's reputation.
In the same month as the agreement announcement, Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration. Subsequently, a former employee of the company told journalist Pablo Torre that the contract with Leonard was designed to evade the salary cap. Ballmer denied any involvement with that agreement or influencing its signing.
The Aspiration logo was set to appear on the Clippers' jerseys from the start of the 2023-24 season, after the end of the Honey sponsorship, but it was never used. In January 2024, Bloomberg revealed that the company was being investigated by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for allegedly deceiving its customers. The Clippers then stated they had terminated the agreement "the previous season."
Salary Rules Violation?
Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, with a $170 million debt and a $30 million obligation to the Clippers. Its co-founder, Joe Sanberg, pleaded guilty to $248 million in electronic fraud.
The NBA has hired the law firm of Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate whether the Clippers violated salary rules. The process could extend beyond the 2026 playoffs. According to the rules, Silver will not decide alone on the punishment: a neutral arbitrator will determine if there is enough evidence to penalize the Los Angeles franchise.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La NBA aprobó un acuerdo de los Clippers y Apiration: continúa el bochorno con Kawhi Leonard
