Los Angeles Clippers fined $30,000,000; Kawhi Leonard fined $700,000 after NBA investigation

On September 3, 2026 the NBA announced sweeping penalties against the Los Angeles Clippers and player Kawhi Leonard after a nearly year-long investigation into salary-cap circumvention.

The league fined the Clippers $30,000,000 and hit Leonard with a $700,000 fine for violating NBA rules limiting player compensation. In addition to the monetary penalties, the Clippers will forfeit five future first‑round draft picks — one each in 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033 — and several senior team officials received suspensions.

Sanctions and suspensions

Owner Steve Ballmer received a one‑year suspension from all league and club activities. Lawrence Frank, the team president of basketball operations, was suspended six months without pay, while Gillian Zucker, president of business operations, was suspended for one year. The investigation was carried out by a New York law firm and concluded that the Clippers had engaged in “a pattern of improper conduct and multiple serious violations of the organization’s rules, including prior breaches to circumvent the salary cap.”

The league and the players’ union stated that the penalties are final and binding. The inquiry found that the Clippers had facilitated off‑court earning opportunities for Leonard with four companies tied to the club, brokered sponsorship agreements between those firms and Leonard, encouraged the businesses by offering club-related commercial cooperation, paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives, and failed to properly report or prevent improper efforts to secure off‑court income on Leonard’s behalf.

The probe followed initial allegations that Leonard was compensated through a $28 million sponsorship deal he signed in 2022 with the now‑bankrupt green banking company Espirationen, which also had a reported $300 million, 23‑year sponsorship arrangement with the Clippers.

Leonard, through his new agent Harrison Gaines, accepted responsibility for mistakes by those close to him and expressed regret for the attention the situation caused his fans and family. He said: "I entered into the contract with the Clippers, as well as the contracts under investigation, in good faith, fully committed to fulfilling my obligations and without knowing that anyone intended to circumvent the salary cap."

In June, Leonard dismissed his uncle and then‑business manager Dennis Robertson; Robertson has been suspended from all NBA employment.

Photo: press material from the event