Baxter Holmes
Multiple Authors
Six months have handed since allegations first arose that the LA Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap to pay star Kawhi Leonard, prompting the league to investigate.
At final week’s board of governors assembly, NBA commissioner Adam Silver didn’t handle, and was not requested about, the investigation. But final month at All-Star weekend — hosted by the Clippers — Silver stated the investigation has been “enormously complex.”
Here’s what we all know — and do not know — about the allegations and the place the investigation stands:
What are the particulars of the investigation, and what’s the latest?
The investigation, led by the legislation agency Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, started in September 2025 and facilities on allegations that Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer and the staff orchestrated a $28 million endorsement deal between Leonard and Aspiration, a now-bankrupt green banking company wherein Ballmer had invested, to bypass the league’s wage cap.
The NBA investigation adopted a sequence of reviews by Pablo Torre, a podcaster and ESPN contributor, who cited inner paperwork that confirmed Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration by way of his private LLC in September 2021. That month, the Clippers additionally signed a $300 million deal with Aspiration, making the firm the “first founding partner” of the Intuit Dome.
Six months later, Aspiration signed its cope with Leonard. An unnamed worker who purportedly labored for the banking firm advised Torre that Leonard’s sponsorship deal “was to circumvent the salary cap.”
While Ballmer stated he launched Leonard to Aspiration, he told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne in September 2025 he had no information of the deal and denied he directed the firm to strike one.
Multiple sources with information of the investigation stated that interviews are ongoing.
Those sources say that the staff from Wachtell Lipton, led by lawyer David Anders — who has led different league investigations — is interviewing Clippers officers and different key figures, together with former Aspiration workers with information of the firm’s sponsorship cope with Leonard.
It’s unclear if Leonard has but been interviewed — or if anybody near him has, both.
“Wachtell’s investigation is ongoing,” stated an NBA spokesperson. “There is more work to be done and no set timeline.”
It’s common for investigations to take many months. In 2021, the league requested Wachtell Lipton to conduct an investigation into the Phoenix Suns and then-owner Robert Sarver following a November 2021 ESPN story detailing allegations of racism and misogyny throughout Sarver’s 17 years as proprietor.
Anders additionally led that investigation, and Wachtell Lipton interviewed 320 individuals and reviewed greater than 80,000 pages of emails, textual content messages and different paperwork.
The findings from that investigation weren’t introduced till September 2022 — 10 months after the investigation was first launched.
Silver addressed the complexity of the Clippers investigation at All-Star Weekend: “You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed.”
He additionally stated, “From everything I’ve been told, the Clippers have been fully cooperative.”
What occurs after Wachtell Lipton brings its findings again to the league workplace?
As it pertains to potential wage cap circumvention, and relying on the findings, Silver is just not solely liable for deciding whether or not the Clippers will likely be punished, per the phrases of the NBA’s collective bargaining settlement.
Rather, Wachtell Lipton will current its findings to the league workplace, and Silver will determine whether or not to deliver the agency’s findings to a impartial arbitrator appointed by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
The arbitrator would then look at what Silver introduced forth and determine the subsequent step. The arbitrator may both grant Silver the authority to punish the Clippers or determine that there is not sufficient proof to advantage any self-discipline and deny him the skill to levy penalties towards the staff.
“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league,” Silver advised reporters following the league’s board of governors conferences in Midtown Manhattan in mid-September 2025. “I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.”
How have these concerned in the investigation responded to the allegations?
The allegations and subsequent investigation have forged a cloud over the Clippers franchise, however the staff’s management hasn’t wavered from its preliminary public denials.
In September 2025, following Torre’s report, Ballmer appeared on ESPN to disclaim he had information of the endorsement contract the sides finally signed, or that he directed the firm to take action. Ballmer additionally stated in his interview that he would welcome an investigation.
Later that very same month, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank made comparable remarks at the Clippers’ media day.
“We are glad there’s an investigation, and we welcome it,” Frank stated. “We appreciate that there’ll be a clear-eyed look at these allegations, and we’re eager for the truth to come out. The assumptions and conclusions that have been made are disappointing and upsetting, and we expect the investigation will show that these allegations are wrong.”
Leonard additionally addressed the matter during media day in September 2025.
He dismissed the allegations, including, “The NBA is going to do their job. None of us did [any] wrongdoing. That’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”
“The Clippers continue to cooperate with the league’s investigation and look forward to a resolution of this matter,” the Clippers advised ESPN in an announcement this week.
In a September 2025 statement posted to X, Aspiration co-founder and former CEO Andrei Cherny additionally denied the allegations of wage cap circumvention, saying Leonard’s contract had “three pages of extensive obligations,” and that he signed the contract following “numerous internal conversations about the various things Aspiration was planning to do with Leonard.”
But in response to Cherny’s assertion, three former Aspiration executives who reported to him launched an announcement of their very own, which was obtained by Torre.
That assertion was from Rojeh Avanesian, Aspiration’s former chief monetary officer; Mike Shuckerow, Aspiration’s former chief working officer; and Eric Anderson, Aspiration’s former chief know-how officer.
The executives stated they did not agree with the firm’s choice to signal the Leonard deal.
“The team expressed concerns at the time regarding the high cost of the arrangement and its lack of alignment with Aspiration’s brand and business strategy,” they stated in the assertion. “While subsequent marketing efforts were undertaken, they were ultimately discontinued and should not be interpreted as support for the deal itself.”
They continued, “In our judgement, the Leonard Deal was not in the company’s best interest. It was strategically difficult to justify then, and it remains so today.”
Cherny declined to remark for this story.
Also on account of Torre’s reporting, Ballmer has been named in a lawsuit filed by 11 former Aspiration buyers who say they have been defrauded out of hundreds of thousands by co-founder Joseph Sanberg and others at the firm. Ballmer was added to the lawsuit, initially filed in July 2025, in November 2025, with buyers alleging he participated in the fraud by funneling cash to Leonard.
A listening to for the swimsuit is scheduled for April 22 at Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles. Ballmer’s attorneys have requested the court docket to find out that the buyers didn’t allege information adequate sufficient to state a authorized declare, and for the case to be dismissed.
What can we find out about how Leonard’s contract with Aspiration took place?
Ballmer advised ESPN final 12 months that “[Aspiration] did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved. We made an introduction. That was in early November [2021].”
Aspiration, which was based in 2013 and drew backers together with Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom, and Leonardo DiCaprio, had introduced in August 2021 that it supposed to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition firm (SPAC), a deal that may’ve valued the firm at $2.3 billion and infused greater than $400 million in money.
But by 2022, Shuckerow, Aspiration’s former chief working officer who says he’s not a whistleblower to any authorities company about Aspiration, advised ESPN that spending had change into an issue at the firm.
He stated Aspiration had made costly investments in carbon initiatives in Brazil and elsewhere, employed in nonrevenue areas and accrued bills tied to sponsorship offers, together with model offers with the Clippers, Athletes Unlimited and the Boston Red Sox.
Shuckerow stated that preserving a few of the firm’s main investor relationships took on better significance — together with with Ballmer, one in all the 15 wealthiest individuals in the world — which he stated Sanberg conveyed to the members of the government staff.
Shuckerow stated the entities that Ballmer oversaw — together with the Clippers and the Intuit Dome — had change into important to Sanberg and Cherny not just for Ballmer’s continued funding however for the credibility that Aspiration wanted in its pursuit of going public.
“It was made clear to the corporate side of the house that the Ballmer ecosystem was a priority,” Shuckerow stated.
Another high-level former Aspiration government advised ESPN that Sanberg additionally advised colleagues the Clippers have been trying to elevate Leonard’s public profile, which may result in extra endorsements for him. That government additionally stated Sanberg stated the deal may result in extra enterprise between Aspiration and the Clippers. The government stated there was by no means any point out of the wage cap or makes an attempt to bypass it, and that they by no means heard Sanberg’s sentiment from Clippers officers.
A supply near the Clippers with information of the investigation stated, “As is clear from (Sanberg’s) guilty plea, this desperate admitted felon would say anything while struggling to keep his company afloat.”
Sanberg’s lawyer did not return a request searching for remark.
Shuckerow additionally stated that some firm executives expressed opposition at the preliminary dimension of Leonard’s deal — $28 million, plus $20 million in fairness in money. (In one textual content message trade between Aspiration executives, reviewed by ESPN, one government described calling a “Hail Mary” to contact Sanberg about the deal whereas noting that it “likely won’t do anything.”)
Shuckerow stated that, in response to the opposition, Sanberg advised different executives that he’d give Leonard $20 million of his private fairness in the firm. The deal was signed in April 2022. In their joint assertion, the three former executives stated the deal “was presented to the company as a completed arrangement and executed by Mr. Cherny despite significant objections from members of this senior management team.”
It didn’t replicate any technique beforehand communicated to us, nor was it reviewed by way of Aspiration’s Investment Committee course of.”
In one email exchange from June 2022 that was obtained by ESPN, an Aspiration marketing official said there were “some fairly large flags” in the settlement. (The Wall Street Journal first reported about the emails in October.)
“Specifically, we needs to be getting approach multiple 8-hr. manufacturing day for the value that we’re paying,” the official wrote. “Second, Kawhi’s lack of social media accounts will considerably hamper our skill to ship significant media worth on this marketing campaign. As at the moment written, Aspiration might want to make an enormous funding in paid media for this content material to get any visibility.”
In hindsight, the high-level Aspiration executive who spoke to ESPN said that the process “may’ve been dealt with higher.”
What does Leonard’s contract with Aspiration actually say?
ESPN obtained a 19-page contract between Leonard and Aspiration, signed in April 2022, which details several pages of obligations for Leonard. Among them were commitments including autograph signings, community service events, promotional and public appearances and an annual eight-hour day of filming.
Aspiration had the right to terminate the contract if Leonard no longer played for the Clippers. The contract also includes a so-called “beliefs” clause, which stipulates that Leonard “could decline to proceed with any motion desired by the Company beneath Section 3.2 if Leonard believes that such proposed actions should not constant together with his beliefs.”
The beliefs clause became a focus of both Torre’s reporting and other commentary about the Clippers-Aspiration allegations.
It’s unclear if Leonard or the Clippers had any other contracts or agreements with Aspiration.
What do league insiders think of Leonard’s contract?
ESPN showed five player agents who don’t represent Leonard language in Leonard’s endorsement contract pertaining to obligations and termination clauses. ESPN also showed the same language to an NBPA source who is familiar with such contracts.
Said one agent, “This is normal. Nothing uncommon right here.”
Said another, “There’s nothing in there that jumps out to me. Everything is fairly normal.”
A third agent made similar comments.
Two additional agents singled out the “beliefs” clause, with one saying, “I’ve by no means seen a participant have the proper to say no to do one thing on account of ‘beliefs.’ An excellent lawyer would have not less than stated bonafide ‘spiritual’ beliefs.”
Another, the fifth agent, made a similar remark, adding that it could represent an “superb negotiation and/or an inexperienced lawyer on behalf of Aspiration.”
The NBPA supply advised ESPN that “there is nothing in that contract that is inconsistent with the regular course of business. The only thing that stands out is that language that says ‘consistent with his beliefs, which is too broad and too vague. And that is really just a question of good negotiation. If a lawyer said, ‘Look, we want to have this language as broad as possible because we can’t sit here today and envision all the promotional activities you may be asking Kawhi to do,’ and if the lawyer for Aspiration is stupid enough to say, OK, we’ll allow that,’ then that’s just good negotiation by Kawhi’s team. But there’s nothing on the face of that contract that suggests that this was all orchestrated.”
The NBPA supply then stated that whereas the language in the “beliefs” provision is definitely favorable to Leonard, the supply additionally identified that Aspiration wasn’t a well-managed firm and that it in the end went bankrupt.
The 5 brokers individually echoed the NBPA supply’s level that whereas facets of the contract could also be favorable to Leonard, there seems to be nothing in the deal itself that implies that Leonard’s deal was orchestrated in such a approach as to bypass the NBA’s wage cap.
In his September 2025 publish on X, Cherny defended the “beliefs” clause. “The ‘beliefs’ provision is not unusual in celebrity endorsements and merely means we can’t do something like make a vegetarian eat meat as a way of forcing them to break the contract,” he wrote in his September publish. “It doesn’t mean you can have a ‘belief’ of not talking to a camera.”
Did Leonard fulfill any of these obligations?
In the summer season of 2022, Variety reported that Aspiration partnered with Creative Artists Agency to “provide sustainability services, carbon reduction services and customer-centric climate impact solutions to corporate, sports and entertainment industry brands.”
The company helped develop a listing of potential concepts for Leonard to be concerned with Aspiration, which they despatched to the firm that summer season, after Leonard had signed the deal, in keeping with an electronic mail obtained by ESPN.
“To launch Aspiration’s new partnership with Kawhi Leonard, the team has developed initial concepts for how the two can partner for maximum impact of his service days and to amplify the partnership in a unique way that drives the topics Aspiration cares about,” the electronic mail said.
One concerned partnering with the musician Drake, one other Aspiration accomplice; one other targeted on tracing Leonard’s carbon footprint; one other imagined Leonard working with native faculties for efforts involving environmental sustainability.
The high-level Aspiration government advised ESPN that firm advertising and marketing officers mentioned varied obligations with Leonard’s camp in the fall of 2022, together with group actions and media/filming.
Shuckerow stated he alerted the advertising and marketing employees in 2022 that the firm had unused belongings in the Leonard deal and recommended they not less than goal the “low-hanging fruit” equivalent to autographed memorabilia. Shuckerow stated he wasn’t positive if advertising and marketing employees or any Aspiration officers contacted the Clippers or Leonard about such efforts.
A supply with information of Leonard’s schedule stated that Leonard’s camp was in talks with Aspiration about executing some obligations, together with group appearances, including that nothing was set in stone as a result of the two sides have been working round each Leonard’s schedule — particularly as he continued to rehab his surgically repaired proper knee — and the Clippers’ schedule.
At the identical time, change was additionally occurring inside the firm. In October 2022, Aspiration parted methods with Cherny, and Olivia Albrecht grew to become its new CEO.
Leonard returned from damage in December 2022. That identical month, Aspiration laid off roughly 100 workers.
Also in December 2022, in keeping with Torre’s reporting, Clippers restricted accomplice Dennis J. Wong invested $1.99 million in Aspiration, 9 days earlier than the firm made an overdue $1.75 million fee to Leonard.
Ultimately, Leonard did not seem in any of the mentioned advertising and marketing activations for the firm.
“I have no reason to believe that Kawhi wouldn’t have done something if we asked,” Shuckerow stated. “I don’t know if we ever got to the stage where something got far enough in the strategy stage where we actually asked him for a concrete ask.”
In March 2023, Ballmer invested a further $10 million in Aspiration in a funding spherical that included earlier firm buyers, The Athletic reported final 12 months, in what one supply with information of Ballmer’s intentions known as a present of fine religion in each Albrecht and the firm’s new course.
Were there any public hyperlinks between Leonard and Aspiration?
The high-level Aspiration government who spoke to ESPN stated the firm mentioned an Aspiration-themed Leonard bobblehead that the Clippers would launch throughout the 2022-23 season.
A supply with information of the deal stated the merchandise was a part of the Clippers’ cope with Aspiration, and never Leonard’s.
While the bobblehead was in manufacturing in late 2022, Aspiration officers contacted the Clippers and requested that the firm’s identify be taken off the bobblehead as a result of it was a plastic merchandise, which ran counter to Aspiration’s climate-focused mission, the supply stated.
The Aspiration identify was subsequently faraway from the bobbleheads’ packaging and all promotional materials, however as a result of the bobbleheads had already been produced, the Aspiration identify could not be faraway from the bobbleheads themselves, the supply stated.
The bobblehead was launched, as deliberate, to the first 10,000 followers at the Clippers-Thunder recreation in late March 2023, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
“Bobblehead production follows a consistent timeline each season, which begins in late summer. The bobbleheads are commonly tied to sponsorship agreements, and in the 2022-23 season, included partners such as Cedars-Sinai, Kia and AT&T,” the Clippers advised ESPN. “The Kawhi bobblehead was handled in the same way, part of a sponsorship activation that included Aspiration, similar to others players’ bobbleheads that year.”
What occurred with Aspiration?
A supply with information of the matter advised ESPN that the Clippers terminated their settlement with Aspiration in May 2023 as a result of the firm breached its contract with the staff by defaulting on funds.
The Clippers continued posting a sequence of comfortable birthday messages to their gamers and employees on social media that referenced the firm in 2023. The posts have been a part of a social media schedule for that season, in keeping with the supply with information of the matter. The remaining such publish on X got here on June 29, 2023, when the Clippers posted a contented birthday for Leonard and referenced Aspiration in the caption.
Later that summer season, in August 2023, the firm that was going to take Aspiration public introduced that it terminated the deal. In January 2024, Bloomberg News reported that Aspiration was the topic of a Department of Justice and Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into whether or not the firm misled prospects.
Aspiration filed for chapter in March 2025, with a reported debt of $170 million. In chapter filings, the firm stated it owed the Clippers $30 million, the most of its collectors, and that it owed $7 million to a restricted legal responsibility firm owned by Leonard.
At media day, Leonard was requested if he was nonetheless owed that determine. “I got to look back at the books,” he stated, “but nah, it was more than that.”
In August 2025, Sanberg formally pled responsible to 2 counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors stated he defrauded buyers and lenders of greater than $248 million.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27 in federal court docket in Los Angeles.
