Kobe Bryant Gets A $24 Million Check Today Because Of A Quirk In His Contract
The Los Angeles Lakers star will receive 80% of his $30.5 million salary today in one lump sum payment today, Eric Pincus of the LA Times reports.
That means he'll get a check for $24,363,044.
NBA players typically get paid bi-weekly during the season, but they have the right to negotiate a different payment schedule on an individual basis. Before the 2011 lockout, for instance, some players structured their deals so they'd still get paid even though they weren't playing.
Kobe negotiated his contract so he gets the bulk of his salary all at once. 80% is the maximum amount a player's salary can be paid out in a lump sum, according to the LA Times.
His checks for the rest of the year will be lighter than usual since the team only has to pay him $6.1 million between now and May.
Kobe is the highest-paid player in the NBA. To put this $24.3 million payment in context, here's what the league's other highest-paid players make over the entire season:
- Dirk Nowitzki ($22.7 million)
- Amar'e Stoudemire ($21.67 million)
- Joe Johnson ($21.5 million)
- Carmelo Anthony ($21.4 million)
- Dwight Howard ($20.5 million)
- Pau Gasol ($19.3 million)
- Chris Bosh ($19.1 million)
- LeBron James ($19.1 million)
- Dwyane Wade ($18.7 million)
So Kobe makes more money today (Nov. 1) than any other player in the league will make all year.
He has now made ~$275 million in salary during his career. Because of his notoriously insane work ethic, he has been able to keep getting maximum contracts at an age when he should be declining. It's paying off.