The NBA vetted and approved a $300 million sponsorship deal between the Los Angeles Clippers and Aspiration in 2021, months before the green banking company signed a separate deal with star Kawhi Leonard that has triggered a salary cap-circumvention investigation by the league, multiple sources told ESPN.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the arrangement said the Clippers submitted the 23-year agreement to the NBA for approval before it was announced in September 2021, as required under league rules because it contained a jersey patch component, the sources said.

The agreement also included signage in the team's yet-to-be-completed arena in Inglewood, the sources said. In April 2022, Aspiration reportedly signed a separate, $28 million sponsorship deal with Leonard that was not su

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