The Los Angeles Clippers basketball club is actively disputing recent reports that accuse them of attempting to circumvent the salary cap in connection with star forward Kawhi Leonard`s contract. These allegations originated from a court filing in March 2025 by Aspiration, a now-bankrupt sustainability company that had previously received $50 million in funding from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.
According to an investigation by journalist Pablo Torre, Aspiration reportedly planned to pay Leonard $28 million in cash between 2022 and 2025, provided he continued to play for the Clippers. A former finance department employee at Aspiration stated on Torre`s podcast that Leonard`s deal “was designed to circumvent the salary cap.”
In an official statement released Wednesday night, the Clippers emphatically denied these claims.
The team`s statement emphasized that neither Steve Ballmer nor the Clippers organization had knowledge of any improper activities by Aspiration or its co-founder until the government initiated its investigation. Aspiration, which sponsored the team for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before defaulting on its contract, filed for bankruptcy in March. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty in a $243 million fraud case.
The Clippers specifically highlighted that Ballmer and the franchise had no oversight of Leonard`s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration.
“To assert otherwise is patently false,” the statement declared.
The club announced its welcome of the NBA`s investigation into Aspiration and affirmed its continued cooperation with law enforcement in their ongoing inquiry into Aspiration`s “blatantly fraudulent activity.”
The NBA confirmed on Wednesday afternoon through a spokesperson that it is “aware of this morning`s media report regarding the LA Clippers” and is “commencing an investigation.”
