Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter accident on January 26, 2020. Kobe Bryant won 5 NBA titles, was named MVP of the NBA Finals twice and made the All-Star team 18 times.
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Kobe Bryant Early Life
On August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant entered the world. His father, Joe Bryant, was a former player with the Philadelphia 76ers. His mother and father were dining out when they decided to name their son after the Kobe beef from Japan.
When Kobe was six, Joe retired from the NBA and moved the family to Italy where he continued playing in a European league. Kobe learned to speak Italian fluently. Kobe returned to the United States to play in summer basketball leagues during his preteen years. When Joe finally decided to hang up his cleats for good, he and his family returned to Philadelphia, where he enrolled at Lower Merion High School.
Kobe Bryant’s Salary And Career Earnings
Kobe Bryant made approximately $328 million only in pay during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. In 2010, an NBA player signed a three-year, $90 million contract extension. A two-year, $48.5 million contract was added to his name in 2013. When Kobe retired from the NBA, he had a $25 million paycheck.
Approximately $350 million of Kobe’s fortune came from endorsement deals. That added $680 million to his lifetime earnings.
Nike, Sprite, McDonald’s, Turkish Airlines, Lenovo, Hublot, and Panini are just a few of the brands he’s been officially endorsed by. Due to his immense popularity there, Kobe was able to get lucrative endorsement deals with Chinese firms like Alibaba, Sina.com, and Mercedes Benz.
For the first several years of his career, he was under Adidas’ sponsorship. His six-year deal with Adidas, inked before the 1996 season, was for $48 million.
In the wake of sexual assault allegations against Kobe in 2003, many of his sponsorship deals were discontinued. One company that did sign him that year was Nike, which gave him a four-year agreement for $10 million annually. For two years, Nike notably avoided using Kobe in any promotional materials involving the company’s endorsement deal with him.
I took the ass whooping for guys to be WHO THEY REALLY ARE! These stories are straight out the vault. Straight up. This the real me!!! @playerstribune
🎥: https://t.co/r7PXqiN7ZJ pic.twitter.com/BDAkEJGzhu
— Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) January 24, 2020
Kobe Bryant’s Net Worth
Kobe Bryant’s Personal Life
Vanessa Laine, who was 17 at the time, was Kobe’s bride in November 1999. She was a background dancer in a music video where they first crossed paths. At the same time, he was recording his first album in a studio. Inside about half a year of their initial encounters, they were already engaged. She has one more year of high school to go.
It was in Dana Point, California, on April 18, 2001, that Kobe and Vanessa tied the knot. It has been alleged that Bryant’s parents did not attend the wedding since they did not agree with the union.
In January 2003, they became parents to Natalia Diamante Bryant, and on May 1 of 2006, they welcomed daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. In the end, they had four little girls. Bianka and Capri are their other two daughters.
After 10.5 years of marriage, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce on December 16, 2011. There was no prenuptial agreement between them, therefore he might have to pay $100 million to $150 million in Vanessa’s divorce settlement. After some time had passed, they were able to make up.
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