NBA Investigates Clippers After New Details Emerge on Kawhi Leonard’s Sponsorship Demands
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September 9, 2025 — The NBA’s ongoing inquiry into whether the Los Angeles Clippers used a team sponsor to sidestep salary-cap rules now includes fresh information about similar requests Kawhi Leonard’s representatives made during his 2019 free-agency talks with the Toronto Raptors.
According to The Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur, Leonard’s uncle and agent, Dennis Robertson, asked the Raptors to secure an additional $10 million per year in sponsorship money for the forward. The proposal reportedly required Leonard to perform no promotional duties—no commercials, appearances, or other obligations—prompting team officials to view the request as a “no-show” arrangement and decline. Arthur adds that Robertson also sought an ownership stake in the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, who share a parent company with the Raptors.
The league is now examining whether the Clippers struck a comparable deal with financial services firm Aspiration. The company, which received a $50 million investment from Clippers governor Steve Ballmer, agreed to pay Leonard $28 million in cash and $20 million in stock with no contractual requirement for him to promote the brand. Investigators are determining whether those payments constitute hidden compensation designed to evade the NBA’s salary cap.
Additional Developments
• Arena naming rights: ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on NBA Today that Aspiration offered nearly twice the $550 million Intuit ultimately paid for the Clippers’ arena naming rights, underscoring the company’s willingness to spend large sums at the time.
• Team response: On the same broadcast, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said a Clippers source compared a tampering violation to “a speeding ticket” and cap circumvention to “a murder charge,” emphasizing the franchise’s awareness of the stakes. The organization has publicly welcomed the league’s review, McMenamin added.
• Possible penalties: Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus outlined three potential outcomes, ranging from no punishment to a severe sanction reminiscent of the NBA’s 2000 ruling against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that case, the league fined Minnesota $3.5 million, stripped five first-round draft picks (later restoring two), and voided Joe Smith’s contract after uncovering an illegal agreement.
The NBA has not provided a timeline for concluding its investigation.
Source: HoopsRumors
