Kawhi Leonard allegedly paid $28 million by the Clippers to avoid NBA salary cap

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $149 million max extension with the Clippers. He’s under contract through the 2026-27 season. 

On Wednesday, September 3, Clippers all-star Kawhi Leonard found himself in the middle of a serious report. The Athletic’s Pablo Torre noted that Leonard was allegedly paid a $28 “no-show job” endorsement deal. It was with a fraudulent tree-planting company funded by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Pablo Torre claims Ballmer used this as a way to pay Leonard and “circumvent the salary cap.”

Will Kawhi Leonard find himself in legal trouble?

BREAKING: Kawhi Leonard allegedly signed a $28M “no-show job” endorsement deal with a fraudulent tree-planting company secretly funded by $50M from Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, per @PabloTorre

Sources say it was all “to circumvent the salary cap.”😳

pic.twitter.com/4eLiIrRelJ

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 3, 2025

The Athletic’s Pablo Torre has a podcast, “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” On Wednesday’s episode, Torre dropped what could be the show’s biggest scandal yet. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is accused of paying Kawhi Leonard $28 million for a “no-show job.” This was allegedly a way for the team to circumvent the salary cap and give Leonard more money. If this is found to be true, it is directly against league rules.

Pablo Torre stated that the situation revolves around a now bankrupt company called Aspiration. This was a tree-planting service funded by Steve Ballmer. The company entered a $28 legal agreement with KL2 Aspire. It just so happens that the company was owned by Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. When Torre tried to find evidence of Leonard endorsing the company, he came up empty.

This story is WILD. There is a clause that says Kawhi Leonard only gets paid as long as he is still with the Clippers. Great work @pablofindsout. https://t.co/mUcRvn0YaI pic.twitter.com/k0dos0FpIP

— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) September 3, 2025

However, a clause in one of the contract documents said Leonard could “decline to proceed with any action desired by the company.” This means Steve Ballmer could give Kawhi Leonard the money without doing anything. Pablo Torre stated that another clause said Leonard would only be paid if he stayed with the Clippers.

When trying to find evidence for the case, Pablo Torre spoke to former employees of Aspiration. One employee agreed to an interview with a voice modifier. This former employee claims they knew the deal between Aspiration and Leonard was to “circumvent the salary cap.” The team has responded with a statement saying, “Neither Mr. Ballmer nor the Clippers circumvented the salary cap or engaged in any misconduct related to Aspiration. Any contrary assertion is provably false.”