NBA Vetted, Approved $300 Million Sponsorship Deal Between Clippers, Aspiration Before Aspiration Signed Separate Deal With Kawhi Leonard

The NBA vetted and approved the $300 million sponsorship deal between the Los Angeles Clippers and Aspiration before Aspiration signed a separate deal with Kawhi Leonard, according to Bobby Marks and Baxter Holmes of ESPN.

Aspiration allegedly paid Leonard $48 million for a “no-show job” intended to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

“The NBA vetted and approved a $300 million sponsorship deal between the LA Clippers and Aspiration in 2021, months before the green banking company signed a separate deal with star Kawhi Leonard that has triggered a salary cap-circumvention investigation by the league, multiple sources told ESPN,” Marks and Holmes wrote. “Two sources with direct knowledge of the arrangement said the Clippers submitted the 23-year agreement to the NBA for approval before the deal was announced in September 2021, as was required under league rules because it contained a jersey patch component, the sources said.

“The agreement also included signage in the team’s yet-to-be-completed arena in Inglewood, the sources said. In April 2022, Aspiration reportedly signed a separate, $28-million sponsorship with Leonard, an arrangement that was not subject to NBA review, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement.”

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $10 million in Aspiration in March 2023. The billionaire had invested $50 million in Aspiration 18 months prior.

Ballmer introduced Aspiration to Leonard in November 2021, three months after the Clippers had agreed to a four-year, $173 million extension with Leonard. Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a lucrative $300 million partnership with Aspiration.

Aspiration paid Leonard $1.7 million days after Clippers minority owner Dennis J. Wong made an almost $2 million investment in the company. This took place in December 2022.

Leonard also got $20 million in Aspiration shares directly from co-founder Joe Sanberg.

Ballmer and the Clippers invested $118 million in Aspiration in 18 months. LAC’s chief financial officer signed off on a $21 million payment from the team to fund various “carbon projects” for Aspiration in June 2022. The $21 million was enough for Leonard’s first quarterly payment as part of his “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration. It also hit Aspiration’s fundraising target.

Pablo Torre of Pablo Torre Finds Out broke this story. He recently reported that Ballmer donated $1.875 million to Aspiration 1.5 years after the Clippers deal ended and Leonard was also personally guaranteed another $20 million in Aspiration equity.