It’s been more than a decade since former Clippers owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team, but new owner Steve Ballmer has a different bombshell controversy.
On Tuesday, the podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out (PFTO) dropped a detailed report alleging that the Clippers circumvented the NBA’s salary cap to pay star Kawhi Leonard an additional $28 million.
Leonard was paid through a deal with Aspiration, a company that provides sustainability initiatives to its clients. The deal was made in late 2021, around the same time Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year, $176.2 million extension with the Clippers. Torre alleges that it was a “no-show job” as Leonard did not need to fulfill any obligations to the company to receive $28 million.
Pablo Torre, a former ESPN host, spoke with seven former Aspiration employees, from whom he was able to receive documents that outline Leonard’s deal with the company. One of the former employees agreed to a recorded conversation with PFTO under a modulated voice and claimed that there was a “marketing deal” with Leonard that they were told not to ask any questions about.
“If I had any questions about it, essentially don’t, because it was to circumvent the salary cap,” the anonymous former employee said.
The employee also said that the deal was exponentially larger than all of Aspiration’s other celebrity endorsement deals, which include Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey Jr.
The Torre podcast alleges that Ballmer wired Aspiration $50 million shortly after Leonard signed with the Clippers.
The Clippers sent a statement to PFTO saying that any assertion of salary cap circumvention and misconduct with Aspiration is “provably false.” The team sent the same message to Front Office Sports when asked for comment.
“The team ended its relationship with Aspiration years ago, during the 2022–23 season, when Aspiration defaulted on its obligations. Neither the Clippers nor Mr. Ballmer was aware of any improper activity by Aspiration or its co-founder until after the government issued its investigation. The team and Mr. Ballmer stand ready to assist law enforcement in any way they can,” the statement read.
Last month, Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud for deceiving lenders and investors worth close to $250 million.
What is the Violation?
The NBA imposes a salary cap to regulate spending across the league. This effectively levels the playing field among owners. Ballmer is by far the richest owner in the league. Forbes estimates his net worth at $152.8 billion, making him the world’s eighth-richest person.
Salary cap circumvention is tricky to prove because it is common for players to agree to lucrative endorsement deals. In this case, however, it could be assumed that Leonard’s compensation violates the CBA, which states that a violation of the salary cap rules comes when “compensation from the sponsor or business partner or third party is substantially in excess of the fair market value of any services to be rendered by the player.”
The CBA indicates that the penalties for the violations include:
- $4.5 million for a first offense, $5.5 million for a second offense
- Forfeiture of one first-round draft pick
- Voiding any player contract linked to the violation
It would also be a violation of the CBA rules if the transaction was not authorized by the league, though it is unclear as of this time if the league was aware of the deal. That would come with stricter penalties, including forfeiture of additional draft picks and a one-year suspension for team personnel involved in the violation.
