Sound Familiar? Kawhi Leonard Tied To A Secret Sponsorship Deal With Intuit Dome Scoreboard Maker

Clippers prima Kawhi Leonard had a 2nd lucrative undisclosed sponsorship statement pinch a institution doing business pinch nan team, Pablo Torre reported Thursday nighttime on his podcast.

Scoreboard shaper Daktronics, which built nan $100 cardinal video committee astatine nan Clippers’ Intuit Dome, hired Leonard to a multi-million dollar endorsement deal, according to Torre. The podcast big recovered nary grounds that nan All-NBA guardant did immoderate activity for nan company.

The specifications are akin to nan $28 cardinal endorsement woody Leonard had pinch Aspiration, a now-defunct biology banking institution that had a 23-year, $300 cardinal sponsorship woody pinch Clippers. Steve Ballmer, nan team’s owner, invested $60 cardinal into Aspiration, triggering allegations that nan costs to Leonard circumvented nan NBA net cap.

That woody is astatine nan halfway disconnected an ongoing, almost year-long NBA investigation. Requests connected Friday for remark from Leonard’s supplier and nan Clippers were not instantly answered.

The net headdress limits what teams tin walk connected subordinate payroll to guarantee parity and forestall nan wealthiest teams from outspending smaller-market teams to get nan champion players. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called attempts to circumvent it a “cardinal sin.”

The taxable was raised connected Torre’s podcast by a personification identified arsenic an “anonymous high-level root nether statement for Intuit Dome.” The personification alleged successful an question and reply that nan sponsorship woody was “1,000% a measurement to circumvent nan net cap. It was funneling money from nan Clippers done Daktronics backmost to Kawhi.”

The investigation into nan Aspiration allegations has grown successful scope, the Athletic reported 3 weeks ago. In summation to attempting to find whether Aspiration’s costs to Leonard violated NBA salary-cap rules, nan probe conducted by high-powered New York rule patient Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz is examining Leonard’s woody pinch Daktronics.

If nan NBA determines that a salary-cap usurpation occurred, nan Clippers could beryllium fined and stripped of first-round picks. Ballmer besides could beryllium penalized and Leonard’s statement could beryllium voided. He has 1 twelvemonth and $50.3 cardinal near connected a three-year, $149.5 cardinal woody he signed earlier nan 2024-25 season.

The endorsement woody pinch Daktronics raised suspicion because nan institution doesn’t do business pinch nan wide nationalist and doesn’t request salient athletes aliases celebrities to transportation its products.

“Daktronics was blimpish to a responsibility for nan 20+ years I was there,” a erstwhile worker told Torre. “I retrieve asking early connected why we didn’t do much accepted advertizing and promotion to summation marque recognition. I was told that since it’s B2B and not a user product, it didn’t make consciousness to advertise that way.”

Asked whether Leonard had an endorsement deal, Daktronics pointed Torre to a situation guidance patient whose spokesperson said, “My knowing is Daktronics doesn’t person a woody pinch Kawhi correct now.” Asked for clarification, nan spokesperson said, “I don’t cognize what nan institution wants to say, aliases tin say, fixed nan Wachtell investigation and each that.”

Daktronics is simply a leader successful designing, engineering and manufacturing integer LED show exertion and audio systems. Nearly 600 clients are listed connected nan institution website, including galore NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL teams. Other clients see respective airports, and Daktronics built nan LAX Time Tower, a 72-foot, four-sided interactive integer media building located successful nan Tom Bradley International Terminal.

The Clippers traded Leonard to nan Toronto Raptors connected June 30 for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a slew of draught picks, but nan teams put woody was put connected hold pending nan result of nan investigation.

Leonard would not talk astir nan allegations during nan 2025-26 NBA play because nan investigation was ongoing. He brushed it disconnected during media time successful September.

“None of america did ... wrongdoing and, yeah, that’s it,” he said. “We induce nan investigation.”

Almost a twelvemonth later, nan investigation continues. Silver has expressed a desire for a resolution, saying successful June that it “needs to beryllium wrapped up earlier adjacent season.” The NBA regular play will statesman successful October.

Salary-cap circumvention first surfaced pinch Leonard during his free agency successful 2019 aft he led nan Raptors to nan NBA championship. Negotiations pinch nan Lakers ceased erstwhile Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, requested a house, nan usage of backstage aircraft, guaranteed off-court net and an ownership liking successful nan team, according to Dan Woike of nan Athletic. The Lakers informed Leonard’s representatives that those requests violated nan NBA corporate bargaining statement and Leonard yet signed pinch nan Clippers, wherever he played nan past 7 seasons.