A new allegation has surfaced in the NBA’s ongoing investigation of the Los Angeles Clippers, with a report claiming Kawhi Leonard had an undisclosed sponsorship deal with the company that designed and installed the massive videoboard inside the Intuit Dome.
The allegation, reported Thursday by former ESPN contributor Pablo Torre on his podcast, involves Daktronics, the South Dakota-based company that created the Halo Board, described as the largest double-sided halo display built in an arena, inside the Clippers’ $2 billion venue in Inglewood, California, which opened in August 2024. Torre cited two anonymous sources who alleged the sponsorship arrangement was designed to move money from the Clippers to Leonard in a way that would circumvent the NBA salary cap.
The team did not respond to a request for comment. A Daktronics spokesperson told the media outlet that collaborated with Torre that the player does not have an active contract with the company. That same spokesperson also referenced an ongoing investigation by a law firm retained by the NBA, saying he was uncertain what the company could or wanted to say in light of that inquiry.
What this allegation adds to the broader investigation
The NBA launched its investigation last September following reporting by Torre that drew on internal documents. Those documents indicated that team owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million in Aspiration, a green banking company, through his personal LLC in September 2021. That same month, the Clippers signed a 23-year, $300 million agreement with Aspiration, designating it the first founding partner of the Intuit Dome.
Six months after that, Aspiration signed a separate endorsement deal with Leonard worth $28 million. An unnamed former Aspiration employee who spoke with Torre alleged that the Leonard sponsorship was structured to circumvent the salary cap. The Clippers have repeatedly denied that they funneled money through Aspiration to compensate him.
Ballmer has said that the team made an introduction between Aspiration and the player’s camp but was not involved after that. He has also said that he lost his entire investment in Aspiration, which ultimately totaled $60 million, and described himself as having been defrauded by the company. The co-founder of Aspiration, Joseph Sanberg, was sentenced in June to 14 years in federal prison for his role in defrauding investors and lenders out of approximately $248 million.
The NBA’s investigation is being led by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz. The Athletic reported in mid-July that investigators had been examining what was described as a previously unreported endorsement deal with another company. The Daktronics allegation appears to be connected to that reference.
The Daktronics specifics
Torre’s reporting relied on two anonymous sources. One was identified as a high-level source under contract for the Intuit Dome who alleged the arrangement was a way of funneling money from the team through Daktronics and back to the player. A second anonymous source, described as a former Clippers official, said they were aware that Leonard had a sponsorship deal with Daktronics.
The terms of the alleged deal, including its value and when it began, were not confirmed. The Daktronics spokesperson’s comment about the Wachtell investigation suggests the company is aware of ongoing scrutiny and is being cautious about what it discusses publicly.
Leonard’s situation with the Clippers
Leonard is one of the most talented players in the NBA when healthy, but has appeared in a limited number of games in recent seasons due to injuries. His status with the Clippers heading into next season is itself a subject of ongoing uncertainty as the team navigates both the performance questions surrounding the franchise and the legal and regulatory questions surrounding the investigation.
The NBA has not announced a timeline for completing its investigation or what consequences might follow. Salary cap circumvention cases in the league’s history have resulted in consequences ranging from fines to draft pick penalties to suspensions of team personnel. Whether the Clippers allegations involving Daktronics are substantiated and whether they change the scope of the investigation remain to be seen.
