Kobe Bryant signs two-year contract extension with Los Angeles Lakers
By Bryan Rose
He hasn’t played a game yet this season, but Kobe Bryant has a new contract as the Black Mamba signed a two-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers today.
The extension will keep Bryant in purple and gold through the 2015-16 season and will make him the highest paid player in the league.
Bryant, who is making over $30 million this season was to become a free agent at season end and just months ago, Lakers owner Jim Buss said the team would not re-sign Kobe to an in-season extension. But what Kobe wants, Kobe apparently gets.
Details of Bryant’s contract are currently unknown, though it’s being reported that Bryant’s deal will reportedly pay him between $40 and $50 million dollars combined during the span of the two-year deal:
"Kobe will still be NBA’s highest-paid player, according to sources. He’ll total between $40 mill and $50 mill his last 2 seasons."
Currently, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks who makes $22 million (and is in the final year of his contract) is the second highest paid player behind Bryant.
Joe Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets and Amare Stoudemire of the New York Knicks were to be the highest paid contracts going into the 2014-15 season at $23 million each, before Bryant inked his deal.
Update: Terms of contract released. Bryant will be paid $48 million over two years including $23.5 million in 2014-15 and $25 million in 2015-16.
Bryant tweeted a picture of the freshly minted deal: