Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Rich man uses fraudulent company to make another rich man richer!
Can you believe it? Is it possible? Do shady, backdoor deals actually happen in sports??
(Cue gigantic eye roll.)
The biggest story and question in the quietest part of the NBA offseason has been whether Kawhi Leonard made a deal to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap, with knowledge and involvement from Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. The story and allegations were first reported by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast two weeks ago.
I will admit that the twists and turns and roller coaster of information that has trickled out over the last two weeks has been entertaining, especially now as I count down the days until NBA training camps open.
The web of involved parties, federal defrauding charges, timely investments matching payments made to Leonard, the NBA investigation and everything in between has been dramatic and tantalizing in the same way a whodunit on Netflix scratches that itch.
But I can’t say that I’ve been surprised by anything and I can’t say that I expect any significant consequences for anyone.
If you aren’t familiar with the story or just need a quick recap, the basics go something like this; a company called Aspiration Partners signed Leonard to a $28 million, four-year endorsement deal that required him to do nothing. There were no commercials, appearances, social media posts. Nothing.
Aspiration was a financial firm that offered banking and investment products and claimed to be eco-friendly, never funding fossil fuel projects, and that it would plant trees.
That company just happened be a Clippers sponsor and was given a $50 million investment by Ballmer. Leonard was also given $20 million in ownership equity from Aspiration owner Joe Sanberg, a perk which is now completely worthless because the company is now bankrupt. And in March, Sanberg was arrested and agreed to plead guilty to federal charges of defrauding investors for $248 million.
Additionally, investments into Aspiration were made by Ballmer and Dennis Wong, Ballmer’s college roommate and Clippers vice chairman, and then were soon followed by payments from Aspiration to Leonard (also reported on “Pablo Torre Finds Out”).
The NBA has launched an investigation into the allegation that this money was given to Leonard and that all this was done as a ruse to circumvent the league’s salary cap. But in order for NBA commissioner Adam Silver to crack down on the Clippers and Leonard, it would require the investigation to find a pretty ironclad case.
As of now, Ballmer is claiming that he was duped by Sanberg and Aspiration. And Leonard, who is always quiet, is quiet.
I don’t expect that there will be any documents that were signed that say, “This agreement is reached with the understanding that it circumvents the NBA’s salary cap rules.” So there probably isn’t going to be a big, flashing smoking gun.
But I also can’t help but wonder who it would benefit for there to be severe and major consequences or punishments. Ballmer and his brand new Intuit Dome are set to host the NBA All-Star festivities in 2026 and are also one of the sites for the 2028 Olympics. The NBA and Ballmer surely don’t want anything upsetting any of the funds that will be rolling in during those two marquee events.
As for Leonard, he can claim complete ignorance. He was offered $28 million. Of course he said yes to free money.
And I know I’m not the only person thinking that this isn’t a wholly unique story. Usually there is a requirement that an athlete does some minimal work for a boatload of money, so the no-show job part of the story is unique (and really makes Aspiration look stupid). But do we really believe that these billionaire owners and their many investment firm and venture capitalist connections haven’t been finding ways to funnel athletes extra money all these years?
It’s like in the times before NIL money in college sports. When a coach or program was exposed for having facilitated money getting into an athlete’s hands, it wasn’t that the practice of paying an athlete was surprising. It was that someone got caught doing what everyone knew was happening.
Once this is all said and done, there might be a slap-on-the-hand fine and some harsh words, or even some changes made to the NBA’s CBA in order to prevent things like this in the future, or to make punishment more severe. But, it’s hard to imagine a world where this actually leads to a shocking crescendo.
Of course, if this does blow up and there are heavy consequences that rock the NBA world, I’ll be right there with some popcorn to watch it unfold.