Claim: The NBA suspended Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year and fined the team $30 million for circumventing the salary cap in connection with Kawhi Leonard’s contract.
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Back in September 2025, journalist Pablo Torre reported that Kawhi Leonard had a $28 million endorsement agreement with Aspiration, a financial services company in which Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested. The deal raised questions over whether Leonard was receiving compensation outside his NBA contract in a potential salary-cap circumvention scheme.
Further reports suggested Leonard’s arrangement with Aspiration could have included about $20 million in company stock, potentially taking the total value to roughly $48 million. The Clippers and Ballmer denied wrongdoing, while Leonard maintained he had not knowingly participated in any attempt to circumvent the NBA’s rules. So, the NBA launched an investigation. They hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to examine the matter.
Over the following year, investigators looked beyond the Aspiration deal at the Clippers’ broader dealings with Leonard and his representatives, including outside income opportunities and certain expenses. In any case, the latest reports reveal that the NBA suspended Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year and fined the team $30 million for circumventing the salary cap in connection with Kawhi Leonard’s contract.
But is that really the case? Here’s what we found!
Our Verdict: True
The NBA announced punishment on September 2, 2026, following the year-long investigation. The league fined the franchise $30 million and suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year from all NBA and team activities. The Clippers also forfeited five first-round draft picks, spanning the 2029 through 2033 drafts. Meanwhile, team executives Gillian Zucker and Lawrence Frank received separate suspensions.
Kawhi Leonard, on the other hand, was fined $700,000, while his uncle and former business manager, Dennis Robertson, was banned from NBA-related activities for five years.
“Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is suspended from all league and team activities for one year for knowingly seeking to help Mr. Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, for approving a business deal that he knew was a precondition for Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with Mr. Leonard, and for his failure to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules,” the NBA said.
“Mr. Leonard, through the conduct of Mr. Robertson on his behalf, violated the circumvention rules by pressuring the Clippers to assist him in obtaining off-court income opportunities, successfully obtaining those opportunities, and failing to reimburse payments by the Clippers for personal expenses,” they added.
Despite the NBA’s announcement, the Clippers maintained they had done nothing wrong and were expecting to get exonerated.
“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the team said in a statement. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner (Adam) Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure it’s fairness and accuracy.”
They also claimed that they will “now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”
However, according to a post on X from the Clippers owner on September 14, his stance on the matter changed.
“This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets,” Ballmer said in a statement posted on the Clippers’ X account. “I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and the distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.
“We are committing to put this chapter behind us. We have communicated to the NBA that we are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine, and are moving forward. While there are still disagreements concerning the findings in the report, this is not where I want to focus. Team owners should support, not distract.
“The challenges ahead of us are significant, but so is our resolve. We will continue to build our team and invest in our community. The confidence of our fans is our priority. With our talented roster, outstanding staff and clear vision, I am certain that we will compete at the highest level and be an organization our fans can be proud of.”
Our fact-checking sources:
- Pablo Torre Finds Out, September 3, 2025. X Post
- Boston Sports Journal, September 4, 2025. BSJ Exclusive: Kawhi Leonard endorsement deal that triggered NBA investigation was actually worth $48 million
- The Athletic, September 6, 2025. NBA hires law firm to investigate Kawhi Leonard, Clippers cap circumvention allegations: Source
- NBA, September 2, 2026. NBA announces penalties and findings arising from investigation of LA Clippers and Kawhi Leonard
- NPR, September 2, 2026. NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer, fines team $30M, Kawhi Leonard $700K in cap circumvention case
- Steve Ballmer, September 14, 2026. X Post.