NBA suspends Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and fines team $30 million for salary cap violation

The NBA on Wednesday suspended former Microsoft CEO and Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year, and fined the team $30 million for circumventing the league’s salary cap rules.

LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has been fined $700,000 for his role in the scandal, which saw Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities that would allow Aspiration to enter into an endorsement agreement with the athlete that had not been properly disclosed.

The league said the Clippers were “inducing the companies to enter into these agreements by offering them business from the team," and the Clippers also paid personal expenses for Leonard and his representatives and did not report “improper solicitations for off-court income opportunities” that Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson, made on his nephew's behalf.

The NBA also accused Ballmer of failing to "create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules."

"The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of the teams and players and ultimately the fans," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "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.”

Two other high-ranking Clipper officials have also been suspended, though President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank has only been suspended for six months.

The LA Clippers are also forced to forfeit five first-round draft picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA Drafts.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.