The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has opened a criminal investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers broke federal law by arranging no-show endorsement deals that funneled tens of millions of dollars to Kawhi Leonard, The New York Times reported on Thursday, September 10.
The probe is separate from the league discipline the franchise has now agreed to serve. It lands with the office that has traditionally handled US professional sports cases, including the Tim Donaghy referee-gambling case in 2007. At least one subpoena has already been issued, according to the reporting.
A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office declined to comment. Representatives for the Clippers and the NBA did not respond.
The NBA’s record punishment
The federal case travels alongside a very different set of consequences the Clippers have already accepted. On September 2, the NBA fined the franchise $30 million, forfeited its first-round picks from 2029 through 2033, suspended owner Steve Ballmer for one year, suspended president of business operations Gillian Zucker for a year without pay, and suspended president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank for six months without pay. Leonard was ordered to pay the league $700,000. His longtime adviser Dennis Robertson was banned for five years from doing business with any NBA team on behalf of a player.
Read also: Luis Díaz on his Bayern goal drought: 'The only thing missing is the finishing'
Commissioner Adam Silver framed the sanctions in unusually blunt terms.
“I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct. The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations,” Silver said.
The league also placed the franchise under a five-year compliance monitoring program overseen by the league office.
What prosecutors are examining
According to the NBA’s own findings, the Clippers directed a kickback from a Daktronics scoreboard contract at Intuit Dome to Leonard in the form of an endorsement deal. The Securities and Exchange Commission has separately looked at Daktronics because the scoreboard company had no history of celebrity endorsements and there is no evidence Leonard did any promotional work for it, according to reporting on the criminal probe.
The wider scheme the NBA outlined also included a $28 million endorsement contract with Aspiration Partners, the green-banking company whose co-founder Joseph Sanberg was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after Aspiration collapsed into bankruptcy. That connection is why the federal track is a different order of risk from a fine: prosecutors do not need the NBA’s cooperation to pursue wire-fraud or bankruptcy-fraud theories tied to sponsor payments that flowed through a company that later failed.
For now, the criminal inquiry’s scope, targets and possible charges are unclear, and it is uncertain whether any charges will follow.
Ballmer’s public position
Ballmer initially told ESPN in September 2025 that he welcomed a league investigation and denied being party to any endorsement arrangement. His tone shifted after the sanctions came down. In a statement posted on 14 September, the owner said the Clippers had paid the fines and were moving forward.
“While there are still disagreements concerning the findings in the report, this is not where I want to focus,” Ballmer said.
Read also: Alonso demands answers: 'Very bad' Honda problems force Aston Martin review after Madrid
“I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused.”
He said nothing publicly about the federal probe.
Leonard has rejected the accusation from the start.
Asked about the NBA inquiry before it concluded, he told reporters: “None of us did no wrongdoing. And, yeah, that’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not gonna be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”
Read also: Trump publicly backed him, now his favourite NHL player is suspended mid escalating feud
Ballmer’s league suspension runs for one year from the September 2 sanctions announcement.
Read also: Tyron Woodley: 'I thought everybody was laughing at me'
