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The NBA’s investigation into the Clippers’ cap circumvention for Kawhi Leonard through a backdoor sponsorship deal may have just gotten more complicated.
On Thursday, Pablo Torre reported that the Clippers star also had a previously unknown endorsement deal with Daktronics.
Daktronics is a publicly traded company that manufactures scoreboards and LED signs for arenas and installed the halo board for the Intuit Dome, the Clippers $2 billion arena that opened in 2024. The cost to install the halo board was reportedly $100 million.
Torre reported in the fall that Leonard had a deal with the failed environmental startup Aspiration, allegedly to circumvent the league’s salary cap and additionally compensate him. The Daktronics deal, Torre reported on his podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out in collaboration with Hunterbrook Media, was meant to do the same.
Torre cited multiple sources who told him Leonard was a spokesperson for Daktronics, but didn’t provide specifics for the contract. Torre cited a source who said the contract was for “millions of dollars.”
Spokespeople for Daktronics, the NBA, and the Clippers did not immediately respond to Front Office Sports’s requests for comment. The company previously referred Torre and Hunterbrook to a crisis management firm, which said: “My understanding is Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now.” The spokesperson later added, “I don’t know what the company wants to say, or can say, given the Wachtell investigation and all that,” referring to the NBA’s investigation into the Aspiration deal.
The NBA has been investigating the Clippers for 11 months and commissioner Adam Silver told reporters in July that his timeline was to wrap the probe “this summer.” The Athletic reported on July 14 that the Clippers investigation, which is being handled by New York firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Kratz, has looked into a second deal of Leonard’s. It’s unknown if Daktronics is the second endorsement deal The Athletic was referring to. ESPN reported on July 29 that the investigation could extend into 2027 if the parties can’t agree on the findings or a settlement.
If found guilty, Silver has the ability to fine the Clippers $7.5 million, strip the team of multiple draft picks and void Leonard’s contract, which is in the final year and worth $50 million, as forms of punishment.
The Clippers traded Leonard to the Raptors on June 30, but the deal is currently on hold until the investigation is resolved. Silver said in July that the Clippers and Raptors mutually decided to postpone the trade and he was not involved.
“The league did not pause the trade,” Silver said. “The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward, given that the investigation remained open and any possible impact on Kawhi or his contract was yet to be known. They chose not to live with that uncertainty.”
