Loyalty to Nike and Lakers Pays Off as Late Kobe Bryant’s Bank Account Reaches Billion Dollar Mark

Published 03/07/2024, 2:06 PM EST

In 2013, entrepreneur Jeff Stibel joined hands with Kobe Bryant and established a company. The venture capital firm has over $2 billion in assets now. Multiple companies are part of their investment portfolios like Dell, AliBaba, Epic Games, and Tile. The handshake showed Kobe Bryant’s smart investment sense.

Mamba collected over $323 million as a Lakers player. He was even honored by a statue after the draft season in 2024. It was an emotional night as many Lakers players came to show their respects for their former star. $209,602 is the average money per game that the Lakers would spend on Kobe. Thus looking back at it, the contract aspect seems to be a bargain for the franchise.

It was Adidas who first signed 17-year-old Kobe Bryant for $48 million throughout six seasons. Mamba eventually paid $8 million to get out of that contract. For the 2002-03 season, he was sneaker-free as he never signed with any brand. He then signed a deal with Nike worth $10 million a year for 4 years. The partnership with Nike was in full effect with the launching of a brand Nike Kobe.

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Kobe Bryant’s rich history with LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant spent his 20-year career with the Lakers and won five championships. He was considered one of the best players in the franchise’s history. Picked by the Lakers as 13th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft, “Black Mamba” would partner with Shaquille O’Neal to three-peat the NBA championship for the franchise.

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The former MVP had an annual salary of $3.5 million in his rookie year. The Lakers agreed on a six-year contract of $70 million in 2000. Kobe Bryant signed his first mega-deal after the team’s 2009 championship triumph; a three-year, $84 million extension. In November 2013 Kobe signed another two-year, $48 million extension. The five-time champion made $30.5 million in 2013-14, $23.5 million in 2014-15, and in his final season in the NBA (2015-16), he got $25 million.

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Kobe Bryant endorsed more than 20 brands throughout his NBA career. The basketball icon had the NBA’s highest salary for six straight seasons. When Bryant hanged up his boots in 2016, his career earnings from playing salary and endorsements totaled $680 million. It was more than any other team athlete in the history of sports back then. The only athletes to top Bryant were Tiger Woods, Floyd Mayweather, and Michael Schumacher.

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Written by:

Pranav Kotai is a WWE reporter at EssentiallySports. With a master's in sports management and a lifelong passion for pro wrestling, Pranav has an eye for understanding WWE like no other. Pranav is an open encyclopedia of all storylines, with a well-rounded approach to his writing, especially for his favorites like up-and-coming legends Randy Orton, LA Knight, and Rhea Ripley.

Edited by:

Bilal Handoo

Loyalty to Nike and Lakers Pays Off as Late Kobe Bryant’s Bank Account Reaches Billion Dollar Mark

Kobe Bryant’s rich history with LA Lakers

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