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Report alleges L.A. Clippers all-star was given even more money from fraudulent company than previously thought.
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Published Sep 04, 2025 • 4 minute read
Los Angeles Clippers team chairman Steve Ballmer presents a jersey to Kawhi Leonard during a press conference in Los Angeles in 2019.
Los Angeles Clippers team chairman Steve Ballmer presents a jersey to Kawhi Leonard during a press conference in Los Angeles in 2019. AP Photo
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The Kawhi Leonard no-show scandal continues to be the talk of the NBA world.
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A day after investigative reporter Pablo Torre’s Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast episode alleged the two-time NBA Finals MVP had received millions of dollars under the table on top of the $176-million extension he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021, Boston Sports Journal alleged that Leonard actually was to be paid an additional $20 million from Aspiration Partners, not only the $48 million Torre alleged.
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“According to a high-level source, Leonard also cut a side deal with Aspiration to receive an additional $20 million in company stock. The stock was to be paid out from personal holdings (of Joseph Sanberg, who co-founded Aspire with Andrei Cherny in 2013) in the company over four years,” according to Boston Sports Journal.
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The report alleged, citing “a source within the company,” that none of Aspire’s executives were consulted about the Leonard deal and “Cherny never presented the deal to Aspiration’s Board of Directors. BSJ has learned the deal was presented to the executive team as-is, with no opportunity for further analysis.
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“Had they followed typical procedures, BSJ has been told they would have objected to the deal. Cherny, who served as CEO, signed the deal against the wishes of his management team, who saw it as a poor use of cash resources,” the report said.
Unlike the other celebrities Aspire hired to endorse the company (like Robert Downey Jr. and Drake, amongst others), there’s no record of Leonard doing any promotional work for the company.
Sanberg plead guilty to a $248-million scheme to defraud investors and lenders in late August and Aspire went bankrupt long before that after being a key Clippers sponsor for a few seasons.
“This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Acting United States Attorney Bill Essaylisaidabout Sanberg.
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The NBA is launching an investigation into the allegations about Leonard’s Aspire link and, interestingly, its board of governors are set to meet in New York next week with Raptors co-owner Larry Tanenbaum still in the role of the board’s chairman.
It has been reported here that the Raptors were unhappy with the asks of Leonard’s camp back in 2019 when he left the club after leading it to a championship and The Athletic reported Tanenbaum voiced his displeasure to the league at the time, which could make next week even more interesting.
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Arizona radio host Jonathan Gambadoro added more fuel to the firestorm late Wednesday by alleging the Raptors were willing to meet some of the asks in a way, posting on X: “From what I know from sources – when Kawhi signed with the Clippers the Toronto owner Larry Tanenbaum was beside himself because he believed he bent over backwards for Kawhi – including calling three sponsors to meet Kawhi’s demand of an extra $15 million in endorsement money.
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“This was brought to the attention of Adam Silver as a concern over the cheating going on in the league being out of control. But no action was taken as it was thought Tanenbaum didn’t truly understand the rules – only a promise to get more serious about it in the future.”
This story is fascinating. From what I know from sources - when Kawhi signed with the Clippers the Toronto owner Larry Tannebaum was beside himself because he believed he bent over backwards for Kawhi - including calling three sponsors to meet Kawhi's demand of an extra $15… https://t.co/VVTxvA14Lj
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) September 3, 2025
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The Raptors said Thursday they have no comment when asked about Gambadoro’s post or the Leonard situation in general.
Regardless of what NBA teams are willing or unwilling to do where the biggest of big-name free agents are concerned, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is the richest owner in the sport and one of the wealthiest humans on the planet, and can always do much more, if willing.
That’s a big reason why far more punitive luxury-tax measures were put in place in the latest collective bargaining agreement: To ward off Ballmer and the other richest owners from flexing their significant extra muscles by simply eating any penalties.
This already is a huge story. What comes next will be fascinating and perhaps monumental.
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[Kawhi Leonard of the L.A. Clippers handles the ball during Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Phoenix Suns.
Kawhi Leonard, Clippers rocked by bombshell allegations that could lead to heavy NBA penalties](https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/toronto-raptors/kawhi-leonard-clippers-bombshell-allegations?utm_source=read-more)
2. [Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster has added head of basketball operations to his resume now as well.
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Are the allegations against the Clippers alone enough for punishment and, if so, how severe?
Will the NBA need more of a smoking gun with Ballmer and the Clippers so far claiming they did nothing wrong and were merely scammed by Aspire like many others? You’ll hear a lot about “plausible deniability” when it comes to this case moving forward.
“There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team,” the Clippers said in a statement on Wednesday in reply to the reports involving Leonard. “Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi’s independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong.”
Ballmer and the Clippers are also set to host NBA all-star weekend at the new Intuit Dome in February.
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