Lockton Insurance was among the companies named in an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers’ circumvention of salary-cap rules involving star Kawhi Leonard.
The league found that Leonard and his then-business manager, Dennis Robertson, violated circumvention rules through efforts to secure off-court business opportunities with help from the Clippers.
After completing a nearly year-long investigation into the relationship between the Los Angeles Clippers, their owner and governor Steve Ballmer, star forward Kawhi Leonard and various business partners, the NBA handed down the most damaging punishment for a team in league history.
A 35-page report from the investigatory law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz revealed a lot about the Clippers’ dealings with Leonard and also raised additional questions.
- NBA rules prohibit teams from arranging endorsement income as a way to provide players compensation outside league salary limits.
- The investigation found that the Clippers initiated and facilitated off-court income opportunities involving Leonard and companies doing business with the team.
- The NBA imposed a $30 mn fine on the Clippers and ordered the franchise to forfeit five future first-round draft picks. The findings followed an independent investigation conducted by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
Lockton appeared in the investigation alongside Boingo Wireless and Daktronics in connection with endorsement opportunities arranged in 2020.
Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker introduced Robertson to representatives of the three companies in early July of that year, according to the investigation.
Leonard subsequently entered multimillion-dollar endorsement agreements with the companies. The agreements were signed during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when endorsement spending of that scale was uncommon, according to the report.
Investigators found that the agreements imposed limited performance requirements relative to the compensation Leonard received. Payments under the three agreements totaled $18 mn, all of which had been paid to Leonard by August 2021.
The investigation gave specific attention to Lockton’s agreement because of its size compared with the broker’s previous endorsement activity. Lockton specializes in commercial insurance, employee benefits and risk management.
According to the report, Lockton had never previously entered an endorsement agreement remotely comparable in financial size to its arrangement with Leonard. Investigators also found no similar agreement signed by the brokerage afterward.
Lockton didn’t publicly promote its relationship with Leonard. The NBA investigation found no Lockton advertisements featuring the basketball player despite the size of the endorsement agreement.
Investigators sought information directly from Lockton during their review. The company declined to cooperate with the investigation, according to the report, and separately declined to comment on the findings.
The NBA concluded that the Clippers improperly facilitated endorsement agreements involving companies already doing business with the franchise. Its findings also said the team induced companies to enter agreements with Leonard by offering or providing business opportunities from the Clippers.
Leonard’s conduct was assessed through actions taken by Robertson on his behalf. The league found that Robertson pressured the Clippers to help obtain off-court income opportunities and that those efforts resulted in business agreements for Leonard.
Questions around Leonard’s outside compensation became public in September 2025 after journalist Pablo Torre reported on a separate $28 mn endorsement agreement with financial company Aspiration Partners.
That reporting prompted wider scrutiny of business relationships involving Leonard and companies connected with the Clippers.
Aspiration was one of four companies identified by the NBA as part of its findings, alongside Lockton, Boingo Wireless and Daktronics. The investigation examined whether those off-court payments represented compensation arranged through companies connected with the franchise.
The Lockton arrangement formed one part of that broader inquiry. Investigators focused on the size of the endorsement payment, the limited obligations imposed on Leonard and the absence of public promotion associated with the agreement.
The NBA ultimately determined that the Clippers’ actions violated league salary-cap circumvention rules. Lockton itself wasn’t accused by the league of violating NBA rules, but its endorsement agreement with Leonard was cited as part of the evidence supporting the findings against the team and player.
