Kawhi Leonard Had a 2nd Shady Multi-Million-Dollar Sponsorship Deal?

Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors is looking less and less likely to get the NBA’s stamp of approval. 

Another financial scandal has hit Leonard via the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast because former ESPN employee Pablo Torre is once again deep-diving into oft-ignored corners of the sports world.

His latest investigation unearthed that Leonard had an undisclosed sponsorship with Daktronics, the company that designed the Clippers’ videoboard inside the Intuit Dome.

The deal is reportedly worth millions, and the news comes from an “anonymous high-level source under contract for Intuit Dome” and  “was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was reportedly funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to Kawhi,” and the “Clippers “were technically kind of funding it.”

Torre got confirmation from a former Clippers employee that the deal was real, but was unable to obtain detailed financial terms. 

So Torre reached out to the PR firm that represents Daktronics, who told him, “Daktronics doesn’t have a deal with Kawhi right now.”

Last September, Torre’s meddling into the Clippers is what led to the NBA launching an investigation into its financial relationship with Leonard.

Torre discovered that the Clippers owner Steve Ballmer invested $50 million into a company called Aspiration, and shortly thereafter Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with the company. However, evidence suggests it was a no-show deal because Leonard has no public-facing connection to the company, and it was allegedly just a way for the Clippers to override the salary cap. The fine print of his contract even included that the deal would end if he left the Clippers.

“For avoidance of doubt, if Leonard is still being paid by the Team but is a member of another NBA organization or has retired, either of those instances shall qualify as a triggering event for termination by Company,” the court filings read.

The investigation hasn’t wrapped up yet, and it’s making Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors more challenging.

Stephen A. Smith even suggested on the latest episode of First Take that Leonard be banned for the entire 2026-27 season.

See social media’s reaction to Leonard’s ties to yet another sketchy endorsement.