As the Los Angeles Clippers prepare to open the 2025-26 NBA season next Wednesday against the Utah Jazz, new information has emerged regarding the league’s role in approving the organization’s major sponsorship deal with Aspiration before later investigating a separate arrangement involving star forward Kawhi Leonard.
According to ESPN reporters Bobby Marks and Baxter Holmes, the NBA vetted and approved the Clippers’ $300 million sponsorship agreement with the green-banking firm in 2021 — months before Aspiration signed a distinct endorsement deal with Leonard that later became the focus of a league investigation into potential salary cap circumvention.
“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,” ESPN reported, citing multiple sources.
Two people with direct knowledge of the deal told ESPN that the Clippers submitted the 23-year sponsorship agreement to the NBA for review prior to its September 2021 announcement. The submission was required under league policy because the contract included a jersey-patch component — one of several categories of sponsorships that must undergo league approval before becoming official.
League oversight and fraud case deepen Clippers’ Aspiration scrutiny
The NBA does not routinely review every team sponsorship, but deals that include jersey patches or visible arena signage broadcast during games fall under stricter league scrutiny. Partnerships connected to industries such as cannabis, gaming, or energy drinks are also subject to additional review.
NBA spokesperson Mike Bass told ESPN that teams negotiate and vet their own sponsorships but must submit patch-related deals for review “to avoid potential brand issues or conflicts with league partnerships.”
In August, Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in an unrelated case brought by federal prosecutors. The Justice Department said Sanberg defrauded investors and lenders of $248 million by falsifying financial documents, securing fraudulent loans, and misrepresenting the company’s revenue sources.
Sanberg’s conviction added new complexity to the ongoing league probe surrounding Leonard and the Clippers. The NBA hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to examine whether the Clippers or their representatives violated salary cap regulations through any involvement in Leonard’s separate endorsement arrangement with Aspiration.
Kawhi Leonard investigation could extend into 2026 as NBA weighs Clippers’ fate
Sources familiar with the process told ESPN the investigation could extend well into 2026, possibly concluding after the postseason. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Commissioner Adam Silver is not solely responsible for determining punishment. The law firm will first deliver its findings to the league office, after which Silver will decide whether sufficient evidence exists to present the case to a neutral arbitrator jointly appointed by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
The arbitrator would then determine whether Silver may impose penalties or if the evidence falls short of justifying any discipline. Possible sanctions could include fines, suspensions, loss of draft picks, or the voiding of contracts if violations are proven.
Silver emphasized the league’s obligation to follow due process before issuing any punishment.
“The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league,” Silver told reporters following the Board of Governors meetings in mid-September. “As with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.”
The revelation that the NBA approved the Clippers’ $300 million sponsorship years before the current controversy adds another wrinkle to a saga that has placed both Leonard and the franchise under intense scrutiny as they enter a pivotal season at the new Intuit Dome.
