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Morning Edition

November 4, 2025

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is being sued by former Aspiration investors, who claim he funneled millions to Kawhi Leonard to skirt the NBA’s salary cap. The case could have major implications for Ballmer and the league.

— Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Aspiration Investors Sue Steve Ballmer Over Kawhi Leonard Deal [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by 11 former Aspiration investors for using the company to pay Kawhi Leonard and “circumvent the salary cap.”

The 133-page lawsuit [[link removed]], obtained by Front Office Sports, was originally filed in Los Angeles back on July 9, two months before the journalist Pablo Torre first reported on Leonard’s $28 million “no-show job” [[link removed]] with Aspiration. Ballmer was not named as a defendant in the initial lawsuit [[link removed]], but was added Monday in light of Torre’s reporting: “Ballmer’s scheme to pay Leonard through Catona to evade the NBA’s salary cap was only later revealed in 2025, by journalist Pablo Torre.” Torre was first to report the amended complaint [[link removed]] Monday.

“It served Ballmer’s interest in getting extra money to Leonard so he could circumvent the salary cap, beat out the competition and re-sign his team’s superstar player,” the lawsuit alleges. “Ballmer was complicit in and aided and abetted Sanberg’s fraud for his own self-serving purpose. Ballmer publicly endorsed Catona and infused over $50 million into the company. Absent Ballmer’s support, Catona could not have sustained the frauds set forth herein.”

The NBA launched an investigation into the Clippers and Aspiration that is still ongoing. When asked about it onstage in September at the FOS Tuned In summit [[link removed]], NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league will “get to the bottom of it.”

“We will bring whatever resources we need to bear on this investigation. I don’t know anything more yet,” Silver said. “I believe in due process. I believe in fairness. And so we will be thorough, but we will begin with a presumption of innocence, not a presumption of guilt.”

The NBA and the Clippers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the last two weeks, the NBA has been hammered with two major gambling indictments [[link removed]] after the arrests of three current and former NBA players and coaches, including Heat guard Terry Rozier and Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.

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World Series Ratings Show Nearly Half of Canada Watched Game 7 [[link removed]]

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The World Series ended in heartbreak for the Blue Jays and their fans, but Canada’s Sportsnet ended the Fall Classic with unprecedented viewership.

The network said Monday that it averaged 10.9 million viewers for Saturday’s Game 7, representing not only the largest audience for a Blue Jays broadcast in its history, but the most-watched broadcast of any type for Sportsnet parent company Rogers Communications. The game, won by the Dodgers to claim a second-straight title [[link removed]], was the latest in a string of viewership records that began in the American League Championship Series [[link removed]] and continued through the World Series.

Friday’s Game 6, meanwhile, averaged 9.4 million viewers, another record that only stood for 24 hours until the deciding contest. For the entire seven-game World Series, Sportsnet averaged 7.5 million viewers, setting four different club records along the way for television audiences.

Game 7, peaking at an average of 14 million viewers in the bottom of the ninth inning, was also the most-watched English-language broadcast ever in Canada outside of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Throughout the World Series, that Sportsnet audience reached 45% of the entire Canadian population at least in some fashion, a level of penetration seen on U.S. television only for the latter stages of the NFL playoffs.

This massive Canadian viewership during the Blue Jays’ run became a major storyline throughout the MLB playoffs [[link removed]] as the country was engaged with baseball in a whole new way. It’s also a boon for Rogers Communications, the Canadian communications and entertainment giant that owns both the Blue Jays and Sportsnet, and is increasingly looking to sports as a key element of its overall corporate strategy [[link removed]].

Looking ahead, the Blue Jays are likely to be a significant player in the upcoming MLB free-agent market [[link removed]].

In the U.S., meanwhile, Fox said Monday that initial, fast national ratings for Game 7 registered an average audience of 25.98 million [[link removed]] across all platforms, representing the most-watched World Series game since 2017. Final U.S. data from Fox and Nielsen, reflecting Big Data + Panel measurements [[link removed]], is expected on Tuesday.

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First Set of CFP Rankings Could Signal Committee’s New Priorities [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season will be revealed Tuesday night, as Year 2 of the playoff’s 12-team era kicks off with big changes.

For the remainder of the season, the CFP selection committee will roll out its rankings each Tuesday through Dec. 2, before announcing the final rankings on Dec. 7, which will determine this year’s 12-team playoff field.

New this year is the CFP’s move to straight seeding [[link removed]].

While the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams at the end of the season will still qualify for the CFP, all 12 teams will be seeded on their final rankings, regardless of whether they won their conference.

Last year, the four highest-ranked conference champions automatically earned the top seeds and first-round byes. Mountain West champion Boise State and Big 12 champion Arizona State received the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, despite ending the season ranked Nos. 9 and 12, respectively.

Prize Money

There is $116 million in performance-based CFP revenue distribution up for grabs.

Conferences will receive $4 million for each team that ultimately makes the CFP, and each team that advances to the quarterfinals. That payout will be $6 million for each team that advances to the CFP semifinal and each team that advances to the national championship game. There is no extra monetary prize for winning the CFP.

Payout Per Round Qualifying for the CFP: $4 million (12 teams) Advancing to the quarterfinals: $4 million (8 teams) Advancing to the Semifinals: $6 million (4 teams) Advancing to the National Championship Game: $6 million (2 teams) Additional expenses covered: Each team receives $3 million

In the case of Notre Dame, which is independent, the school would once again get to keep all its allotted revenue distribution, should it make the CFP again. Last year, the Fighting Irish made $20 million [[link removed]] en route to their national championship game appearance.

Thought Leadership

Tuesday’s rankings reveal will also give insight into how this year’s selection committee plans to shape the 2025 bracket, after controversy consumed the makeup of last year’s debut 12-team field.

SMU was the final team in the CFP [[link removed]], despite losing to Clemson in the ACC championship game. That pushed Alabama out, despite a 9-3 record for the Crimson Tide, which finished No. 11 in the final rankings.

Editors’ Picks Michael Jordan Could Do 2-3 More NBC Interviews: Sources [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]As one source says, “I don’t think it’s one sitdown—but it’s not 15 either.” Grizzlies Face $126M Problem After Another Ja Morant Suspension [[link removed]]by Colin Salao [[link removed]]Morant has three years and $126.5 million remaining on his deal. 25% of SEC Football Coaches Fired So Far This Season [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The conference owes coaches about $100 million worth of buyouts. Question of the Day

Did you watch Game 7 of the World Series?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Monday’s result: 70% of respondents said they don’t think Disney and YouTube TV will reach a deal before Monday Night Football.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Colin Salao [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]

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