Kobe Bryant, Who Made $328,237,108 Through 20 Seasons, Lost Nearly $15 Million Due to 1998-99 NBA Lockout

Kobe Bryant was one of the NBA stars whose earning potential was significantly affected by the terms agreed in their 1999 CBA.

The 1998-99 NBA season lockout was the third lockout in NBA history. It lasted for 204 days, which is the longest in the history of professional sports in the United States.

The main issue that led to the lockout was the division of revenue between the players and the owners. NBA players’ share of the revenue had been increasing over the years, and the owners felt that they were losing out.

The players’ share was set at 57% of the total revenue, which the owners felt was too high. However, the owners wanted a reduction in the players’ share to 50%, but the players did not accept this.

The owners also wanted to enforce a hard salary cap, while also hedging to reduce it below $30 million. In addition, they also wanted to make high school players ineligible for the NBA Draft.

Kobe Bryant earned an average of $3 million lower than he could’ve for 5 years

Kobe Bryant was a name that had a lot of hype during those days. He’d been singled out as a potential successor to Michael Jordan by no less than Jerry West. By the end of his second season, he’d shown glimpses of why West had so much faith in him.

In those times, NBA players on rookie-scale contracts who represented a high ceiling were rewarded heavily. Shaquille O’Neal signed a 7-year deal worth $120 million as a free agent in 1996.

Kevin Garnett, also drafted out of high school in 1995, had hit the jackpot during his salary negotiations as well. The then-20-year-old was successful in landing a whopping 6-year, $126 million extension in 1997.

It was clear that owners would not want to dedicate over half of their salary cap to just one player. This became a point of emphasis during the lockout.

Kobe, who could’ve signed a 7-year extension himself (worth potentially $100 million over the period), ended up getting handicapped. Thus, he was one of the 5 players who voted against the new CBA. His vote obviously didn’t make much of a difference.

Bryant eventually signed a 5-year extension worth over $56 million. This figure averages out to $11.2 million – over $3 million lower than his $14.3 million prospective average under the previous CBA.

Kobe ended up with a net worth of $600 million

Bryant eventually became the highest-paid player in the NBA for over half a decade, starting from 2009 till his 2016 retirement. He accumulated over $328 million in career earnings from the league (pre-tax).

By the time of his untimely death at the age of 41 in 2020, Bryant’s estate was worth over $600 million. Much of it came from endorsements and investments made by his venture capital company Kobe Inc – including BodyArmor.