The latest news surrounding the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard features additional evidence that the organization may have circumvented the salary cap via secret endorsement deals.
While the Clippers and Leonard are being investigated by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (the NBA’s outside law firm) for a $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration Partners Inc, the evidence of another suspicious sponsorship has surfaced.
On the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast, Pablo Torre uncovered Leonard’s ties with Daktronics, the manufacturing company that installed the massive double-sided 4K “Halo Board” for the Clippers’ new arena, the Intuit Dome.
Leonard was reportedly a spokesperson for Daktronics, despite the company focusing its advertising on the business-to-business model rather than celebrity endorsements.
An insider told Torre that the sponsorship was “1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap.” Several high-level officials who worked on the Intuit Dome project joked about Leonard’s alleged sponsorship with the manufacturing company, according to Torre’s sources.
Moreover, the sponsorship was reportedly a multimillion-dollar deal between Leonard and Daktronics. Only sources say the Clippers were funding the endorsement, rather than Daktronics.
Sam Koppelman of Hunterbrook Media followed up with Daktronics directly about the sponsorship. Daktronics didn’t comment on the situation and instead pointed Koppelman to a crisis communications firm, where an executive sent him the following: “My understanding is Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now.”
Investigators from Wachtell perviously looked into the unreported endorsement deal between Leonard and Daktronics.
The current investigation into the Clippers and Leonard is entering its 10th month with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hoping to end the probe before the upcoming season. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard have denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be victims of fraud tied to Aspiration co-founder Joe Sanberg.
Because of the league’s investigation, a trade between the Clippers and Toronto Raptors for Leonard is on hold.
