Report alleges Kawhi Leonard received multimillion-dollar sponsorship from Clippers' scoreboard maker
Investigative reporting claims NBA star Kawhi Leonard signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Daktronics, the company that built the Clippers' new video board, without performing any work, raising further questions about salary-cap compliance.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is reported to have entered a multimillion-dollar sponsorship agreement with Daktronics, the firm that installed the $100 million video board at the Intuit Dome. The deal, described by two sources familiar with the project—one contracted for the arena and a former senior Clippers official—appears to have involved no actual services from Leonard.
"People at Daktronics and within the Clippers organization told me about this multimillion deal with Kawhi and Daktronics. It wasn't a typical celebrity endorsement; the Clippers were effectively funding it, funneling money from the team to Daktronics and then to Leonard," one source said.
The arrangement is being examined alongside a previously reported sponsorship with the now-defunct sustainability company Aspiration, which also allegedly paid Leonard millions without visible work. Unlike Aspiration, Daktronics is a business-to-business company that rarely engages in celebrity endorsements.
Investigators noted that Daktronics faced financial difficulties in 2023 while constructing the arena’s video board and had hired a crisis-communications firm that previously worked for former Clippers co-owner Shelly Sterling and an entity owned by team owner Steve Ballmer.
The NBA, through law firm Wachtell Lipton, is reviewing Leonard’s contracts and the Clippers’ involvement. Commissioner Adam Silver said he hopes the matter will be resolved before the upcoming season, though a settlement could take years.
The Clippers have denied any wrongdoing.