Kawhi Leonard tied to secret sponsorship deal with

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had a second profitable undisclosed sponsorship settlement with a company doing business with the crew, Pablo Torre reported Thursday night time on his podcast.

Scoreboard producer Daktronics, which constructed the $100 million video board at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome, employed Leonard to a multi-million greenback endorsement deal, according to Torre. The podcast host discovered no evidence that the All-NBA ahead did any work for the company.

The particulars are comparable to the $28 million endorsement deal Leonard had with Aspiration, a now-defunct environmental banking company that had a 23-year, $300 million sponsorship deal with Clippers. Steve Ballmer, the crew’s proprietor, invested $60 million into Aspiration, triggering allegations that the fee to Leonard circumvented the NBA wage cap.

That deal is at the middle off an ongoing, nearly year-long NBA investigation. Requests on Friday for remark from Leonard’s agent and the Clippers weren’t immediately answered.

The wage cap limits what groups can spend on participant payroll to guarantee parity and forestall the wealthiest groups from outspending smaller-market groups to purchase the best gamers. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called makes an attempt to circumvent it a “cardinal sin.”

The matter was raised on Torre’s podcast by a particular person recognized as an “anonymous high-level source under contract for Intuit Dome.” The particular person alleged in an interview that the sponsorship deal was “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi.”

The investigation into the Aspiration allegations has grown in scope, the Athletic reported three weeks in the past. In addition to trying to decide whether or not Aspiration’s fee to Leonard violated NBA salary-cap guidelines, the probe performed by high-powered New York law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz is analyzing Leonard’s deal with Daktronics.

If the NBA determines that a salary-cap violation occurred, the Clippers might be fined and stripped of first-round picks. Ballmer also might be penalized and Leonard’s contract might be voided. He has one 12 months and $50.3 million left on a three-year, $149.5 million deal he signed before the 2024-25 season.

The endorsement deal with Daktronics raised suspicion because the company doesn’t do business with the overall public and doesn’t need distinguished athletes or celebrities to pitch its merchandise.

“Daktronics was conservative to a fault for the 20+ years I was there,” a former worker told Torre. “I remember asking early on why we didn’t do more traditional advertising and promotion to increase brand recognition. I was told that since it’s B2B and not a consumer product, it didn’t make sense to advertise that way.”

Asked whether or not Leonard had an endorsement deal, Daktronics pointed Torre to a disaster management firm whose spokesman said, “My understanding is Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now.” Asked for clarification, the spokesman said, “I don’t know what the company wants to say, or can say, given the Wachtell investigation and all that.”

Daktronics is a chief in designing, engineering and manufacturing digital LED show technology and audio systems. Nearly 600 shoppers are listed on the company web site, including quite a few NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL groups. Other shoppers embody a number of airports, and Daktronics constructed the LAX Time Tower, a 72-foot, four-sided interactive digital media construction situated in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

The Clippers traded Leonard to the Toronto Raptors on June 30 for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a slew of draft picks, but the groups put deal was put on maintain pending the end result of the investigation.

Leonard wouldn’t speak about the allegations during the 2025-26 NBA season because the investigation was ongoing. He brushed it off during media day in September.

“None of us did … wrongdoing and, yeah, that’s it,” he said. “We invite the investigation.”

Almost a 12 months later, the investigation continues. Silver has expressed a want for a decision, saying in June that it “needs to be wrapped up before next season.” The NBA common season will start in October.

Salary-cap circumvention first surfaced with Leonard during his free company in 2019 after he led the Raptors to the NBA championship. Negotiations with the Lakers ceased when Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, requested a home, the use of personal plane, assured off-court earnings and an possession stake in the crew, according to Dan Woike of the Athletic. The Lakers informed Leonard’s representatives that those requests violated the NBA collective bargaining settlement and Leonard finally signed with the Clippers, where he performed the last seven seasons.