According to an investigation by journalist Pablo Torre, Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million contract in 2022 to promote a company in which the Clippers owner was a shareholder. This may have been a way for the player, who has never promoted the company, to circumvent the NBA salary cap.

Kawhi Leonard is possibly at the center of a scandal involving a fictitious job that allegedly allowed him to boost his income by circumventing the NBA's salary cap. In his podcast, investigative journalist Pablo Torre claimed this Wednesday that the Los Angeles Clippers star signed a contract with Aspiration Bank in 2022 to promote it. The player never did this, as "The Klaw" made no mention of the bank on his social media or at events.

To prove the veracity of the link between Leonard and Aspiration, a bank that presented itself as "green" by promising to plant trees to offset the carbon footprint of purchases made with its cards, one of whose founders pleaded guilty to fraud , Pablo Torre had access to a contract between Aspiration and "KL2 Aspire", a company created by Leonard. It mentions a remuneration of 28 million dollars over 4 years, paid in cash.

The Clippers have denied circumventing the salary cap.

What does this have to do with the NBA, other than Leonard playing in it? Among Aspiration's biggest investors is Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. The sponsorship deal was signed in 2022, when "The Klaw" was playing for the franchise. This would have allowed him to discreetly increase his income, paid by Ballmer, and thus exceed the maximum salary set by the NBA salary cap: an intention clearly articulated by a former employee of Aspiration's finance department, recorded by Pablo Torre, who speaks of "circumventing" the salary cap.

Contacted by the journalist, the Los Angeles Clippers strongly denied this allegation of fraud. "Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or committed any professional misconduct related to Aspiration. Any assertion to the contrary is patently false ," the franchise responded to Pablo Torre in a statement. Leonard, for his part, did not comment on the findings of this investigation.