Key Takeaways
- Kawhi Leonard reportedly had a previously undisclosed sponsorship deal with Daktronics, the company behind the Clippers’ Intuit Dome Halo Board, which one high-level Intuit Dome source claims was “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap” by funneling Clippers money to him.
- This new revelation adds to the NBA’s ongoing probe into Leonard’s off-court earnings, which already centers on his $28 million Aspiration endorsement tied to Steve Ballmer’s investment and the team’s $300 million arena deal with the company, a setup Ballmer insists was above board despite claiming he was later “flagrantly defrauded.”
- The investigation’s outcome could affect Leonard’s contract and has already stalled his planned trade back to the Toronto Raptors, with the league’s Wachtell-led inquiry potentially dragging into 2027 if challenged in arbitration.
The NBA's investigation into Kawhi Leonard just got another multimillion-dollar wrinkle.
According to ESPN, Leonard reportedly had a previously undisclosed sponsorship agreement with Daktronics, the company behind the massive Halo Board inside the Los Angeles Clippers' $2 billion Intuit Dome. More significantly, one source alleged the arrangement was another avenue for getting money from the Clippers to Leonard outside his NBA contract.
An anonymous high-level source working under contract for Intuit Dome didn't mince words when speaking with Torre.
"It was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap," the source alleged. "It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi."
An anonymous former Clippers official separately said that they were aware Kawhi Leonard had an endorsement agreement with Daktronics. How much Leonard allegedly received, when the deal began, and what he was expected to do in return remain unclear.
Daktronics, meanwhile, isn't saying much. A representative told Hunterbrook Media that Leonard does not currently have a contract with the company, while declining to discuss the reported previous arrangement in detail.
"I don't know what the company wants to say, or can say, given the Wachtell investigation and all that," the spokesperson said.
The revelation may also answer one of the bigger questions surrounding the NBA's expanding investigation. The Athletic reported in July that Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz—the outside law firm conducting the league's inquiry—was examining another previously unreported Leonard endorsement in addition to expenses allegedly covered by the Clippers without reimbursement.
Until now, most of the scrutiny centered on Leonard's $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested millions in the green banking company in 2021, the same year Aspiration landed a 23-year, $300 million sponsorship agreement with the franchise.
Six months later, Aspiration signed Leonard.
The Clippers have repeatedly denied using Aspiration to circumvent the salary cap. Ballmer has maintained that the organization merely introduced Leonard's representatives to the company before stepping away from negotiations.
He has also said he ultimately lost $60 million in Aspiration and was "flagrantly defrauded." Company co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in June for defrauding investors and lenders.
The stakes extend well beyond potential league discipline. Leonard's planned trade back to the Toronto Raptors remains on ice because Toronto was informed it could inherit risks associated with any punishment affecting his contract. Both franchises have said they still intend to complete the deal.
