Clippers Reportedly Paid Leonard $28 Million For 'No-Show Job' To Get Around Salary Cap, League Investigating

Kawhi Leonard signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2019 made plenty of sense. After spending seven seasons in San Antonio and winning his second NBA title in his lone season in Toronto the year prior, Leonard starting a new chapter in his hometown of LA felt like a logical next step. 

It also didn't hurt that the Clippers offered him a three-year deal worth $103 million, but a new bombshell report alleges that Leonard may have been enticed to sign with the Clippers thanks to a $28 million endorsement deal that he never actually worked on. 

The alleged $28 million "no-show job" would have been a way for the Clippers and team owner Steve Ballmer to circumvent the NBA salary cap, according to Pablo Torre's findings.

As Torre laid out on his ‘Pablo Torre Finds Out’ podcast, the alleged situation revolves around a now-bankrupt company reportedly owned by Ballmer called Aspiration. According to documents Torre presents on camera, the company filed for bankruptcy in March 2025, and one of the creditors listed was KL2 Aspire LLC for $7 million. 

Aspiration, a tree-planting service, had previously entered a $28 million legal agreement with KL2, according to Torre's investigation.

KL2 allegedly belongs to Leonard. The title includes his initials as well as his No. 2 jersey number.

The NBA has opened an investigation into the allegations, according to ESPN, which cited a league spokesman. 

Torre was able to find examples of celebrities, including Drake and Robert Downey Jr., endorsing Aspiration, but could not find any instance of Leonard doing the same. He also spoke with a former employee of Aspiration, who did not beat around the bush.

"It was to circumvent the salary cap 'lol,'" the unnamed employee told Torre. "The single largest payment to an individual for marketing that Aspiration ever made has completely evaded all press. ... He didn't have to do anything."

A clause found in one of the contract documents between Aspiration and KL2 stated Leonard could "decline to proceed with any action desired by the Company." In other words, Leonard could choose to do nothing for the company and still be paid.

There is even another piece of the puzzle that makes things look that much worse for Ballmer and Leonard.

According to Torre's findings, payments from Aspiration to KL2 were sent to Leonard's advisor, Dennis Robertson, who was investigated by the NBA in 2019 for asking for impermissible benefits. The investigation ultimately found no evidence that the Clippers provided illegal benefits while pursuing Leonard during free agency that offseason.

Circumventing the salary cap and paying players more than their contract is a violation of NBA rules.

The circumstances — if true — are not necessarily surprising, given that it has long been presumed professional athletes are paid ‘under the table’ in various business and endorsement endeavors. It is the fact that Torre appears to have found a very lengthy paper trail linking the situation together that has understandably caught the sports world off guard.

(Updates story to say the NBA is investigating the report.)