New $10 Million Injection Links Steve Ballmer to Troubled Aspiration as NBA Probe Continues
steve-ballmer-aspiration-investment-nba-investigation
Fresh court documents show Los Angeles Clippers governor Steve Ballmer poured almost $10 million into the environmentally focused bank Aspiration in March 2023, adding to a $50 million commitment he made two years earlier.
The additional funding surfaced while Aspiration was burning through cash, cutting staff and scrambling for capital, according to materials reviewed by The Athletic.
Series of intertwined payments
Along with Ballmer’s personal stakes, multiple sources told The Athletic that the Clippers organization spent more than $50 million with Aspiration to buy carbon offsets as part of the franchise’s public pledge to reach carbon neutrality.
The revelations deepen questions surrounding a separate four-year, $28 million endorsement agreement between star forward Kawhi Leonard and Aspiration, signed in April 2022. Internal records show no evidence Leonard performed work for the brand. A side arrangement reportedly granted him an additional $20 million in Aspiration stock that co-founder Joe Sanberg personally financed.
An email obtained by The Athletic indicates Aspiration’s chief executive opposed the Leonard contract and that Sanberg supplied his own equity to secure it. Sanberg has since pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud.
Timeline draws league scrutiny
Ballmer’s March 2023 investment came shortly after Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong injected $2 million into Aspiration to cover a missed $1.75 million quarterly payment owed to Leonard. The installment reached Leonard nine days later—the same day Aspiration laid off 20 percent of its workforce.
The NBA is investigating whether the financial ties among Ballmer, Leonard and the Clippers skirted salary-cap rules. Within Aspiration, executives expressed confusion over Leonard’s outsized compensation; other celebrity partners such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr. reportedly received less than $2 million each.
The league has not announced a timeline for concluding its inquiry.
Source: Hoops Wire
