The LA Clippers face a challenging situation regarding their sponsorship agreement with Aspiration, an environmentally-focused financial services company that recently filed for bankruptcy. Aspiration signed a giant $300 million, 23-year deal with the Clippers in 2021. By March 2025, though, the company had accrued an unpayable $170 million in debt and declared bankruptcy. The move was part of this deal and at the time it declared bankruptcy, the company still owed the Clippers $30 million.
This sponsorship deal had both a jersey patch and signage in the Clippers’ arena in Inglewood. In reality, the NBA extensively reviewed and greenlighted the deal. The joint agreement is designed to increase the club’s brand exposure and provide substantial economic assistance. And yet recent events involving Aspiration have begun to cast doubt on the agreement’s long-term sustainability.
Aspiration’s troubles extend beyond financial difficulties. Both the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have launched investigations into the company. They’re investigating whether the company deceived their customers. All of this raises an important question that could take months to answer — possibly even outliving the 2026 NBA postseason. These investigations focus on allegations that Aspiration made false, misleading statements to its investors and lenders, resulting in fraud accusations.
At the center of these allegations is Joe Sanberg, the co-founder of Aspiration. In August, he pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud. According to federal prosecutors, Sanberg pocketed $248 million from investor and lender fraud. This scandal has raised questions not only on Aspiration but on its partnerships within the NBA.
In April 2022, Aspiration signed an $28 million separate endorsement agreement with Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. This deal added to their primary partnership deal with the Clippers. One anonymous staffer went so far as to assert that this contract was structured specifically to avoid hitting the salary cap. This brings into serious question Aspiration’s motives, character and their relationships with the league.
Steve Ballmer, owner of the LA Clippers and a major investor in Aspiration, said he was disappointed by the news. After investing $50 million in Aspiration in September 2021, he stated, “Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage.” His comments signal a larger worry among team owners about the reputational damage from doing business with companies embroiled in controversy.
While the NBA does allow jersey sponsorships, the league has strict rules that regulate sponsorship deals, detailed in the league’s operations manual. The National League’s policy guide devotes about four pages to the specifics of jersey patch sponsorship agreements. As NBA spokesperson Mike Bass told the Associated Press, “Teams vet their own sponsorship partners and negotiate their own sponsorship agreements.” He spoke to the potential of when they make the jersey patch a prominent part of knowing the players’ uniforms on TV, etc. The league vets these deals closely to sidestep any possible branding controversy or clashing with current league sponsorships.
In a 2022 congressional testimony, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver admitted the challenges of overseeing team behavior around sponsorships and partnerships. He stated, “The burden is on the league if we’re going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league.” This statement highlights the league’s affirmative duty to prevent its teams from engaging in flagrant and fraudulent misconduct in their commercial practices.
The fallout from Aspiration’s bankruptcy poses some hard questions about the role of climate sponsorships in professional sports. As teams become more dependent on these controversial sponsorship deals to shore up their bottom lines, the opportunity for outrage becomes even greater. The NBA wants to protect its own business and reputation by laying out enforceable standards for sponsorship deals.
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