Kawhi Leonard’s uncle pushed for $10M endorsement without appearances

The ongoing Kawhi Leonard saga continues to unfold. We now have learned what demands Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, made to the Toronto Raptors in order to keep The Klaw up north.

“One, Robertson asked for ownership stakes in outside companies. Not just the Leafs, which he seemed to believe was separate. But with other companies with whom MLSE had a relationship,” Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star said.

“And two, the Raptors were told they needed to match at least $10 million per year in extra sponsorship income. Teams are allowed to introduce players to team sponsors; teams cannot negotiate deals, and MLSE was aware of that fact.

“But it didn’t end there. As one source put it, when told about all the corporate sponsors in Toronto who would be happy to have Leonard as a pitchman, his camp said, ‘We don’t want to do anything.’

“Raptors representatives said any sponsor would want to shoot ads or arrange appearances; Robertson reiterated Leonard didn’t want to do anything for the money.”

The Raptors obviously didn’t go with this, but the Los Angeles Clippers allegedly have. The NBA is currently investigating Leonard’s $28 million no-show endorsement deal with Steve Ballmer’s company Aspiration.

If found guilty, the Clippers could be hit with some serious fines, among other penalties.