Aspiration co-founder cooperated with NBA's investigation into Clippers, Kawhi Leonard

The Clippers are accused of using a sponsorship deal with Aspiration to pay Leonard outside the NBA salary cap

The Los Angeles Clippers' season ended last week in the Play-In Tournament, but the NBA's investigation into the franchise regarding alleged salary-cap circumvention involving superstar Kawhi Leonard is ongoing. Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg, who ran the now-bankrupt company the Clippers are accused of using to pay Leonard to circumvent the NBA salary cap, has conducted two in-person interviews with the league as part of its investigation, ESPN is reporting. 

Sanberg provided documents that contained "information that was relevant to our investigation," per David Anders, the attorney leading the NBA's investigation.

"In all our dealings with Mr. Sanberg, both directly and through his counsel, he provided information that was consistent with our review of contemporaneous documents and other evidence," Anders wrote in a letter representing the NBA that was submitted to judge Stephen V. Wilson of the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California. "Mr. Sanberg's cooperation substantially assisted our investigation, including our ability to develop a more complete understanding of key events. At no time during our dealings with Mr. Sanberg and his counsel did they seek, nor did we make, any promises in exchange for his cooperation."

Sanberg has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in connection with a scheme that prosecutors said defrauded investors out of $248 million. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; his attorneys are seeking a lighter sentence.

Separately, attorneys representing Clippers owner Steve Ballmer also submitted a letter to Judge Wilson, insisting that he was also a victim of Aspiration's defrauding of investors.

"Sanberg flagrantly defrauded Mr. Ballmer, and his actions have significantly damaged Mr. Ballmer's reputation," Ballmer's attorney wrote.

The NBA launched an investigation in September 2025 after investigative reporter Pablo Torre published a series of podcast episodes with information that suggested Leonard's $28 million sponsorship deal with Aspiration was merely a way for the Clippers to circumvent the salary cap. Torre spoke to a former Aspiration employee and had internal documentation to support his reporting. Torre reported that Leonard received millions of dollars from this company without ever fulfilling the sponsorship deal's requirements. Torre also reported that Leonard's deal with Aspiration came seven months after Ballmer invested $50 million in the company, while the Clippers announced a $300 million, 23-year sponsorship deal with the company. Ballmer later invested another $10 million in Aspiration.

"Mr. Ballmer invested a total of $60 million in Aspiration because he believed in Aspiration's stated environmental mission and because he believed Joe Sanberg's representations about the financial bona fides of the company," Ballmer's attorney wrote. "Sanberg's representations turned out to be lies, and what he promised by way of an environmental mission turned out to be nothing more than a lure to bilk Mr. Ballmer and others."

The letter also details how, despite multiple attempts, Sanberg and his attorneys have refused to share any relevant information Sanberg may have with Ballmer's attorneys. It also highlights that immediately after the allegations became public, Ballmer "commissioned a comprehensive internal review" of the Clippers, and also instructed team employees and those at his company, The Ballmer Group, to cooperate with the NBA's investigation.

There have been no significant public updates regarding the league's investigation, and at All-Star weekend in February, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he had no timeline for when the investigation would conclude. 

"It's enormously complex," Silver said in February. "You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed. I will say, just in case anyone is wondering, the fact that All-Star is here this weekend has had no impact on the timeline of the investigation. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is to do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that's where things now stand."