Kobe Bryant signed to a two-year, $48 million contract extension with the Lakers on Monday, and the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer said there was never a question he would return to Los Angeles after he heard management's offer.
Kobe Bryant says contract extension was never a negotiation
The future Hall-of-Famer never even had to ask for the money.
According to a column from Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Bryant didn’t even have to ask.
Between his signature on a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension and a cross-country flight to the East Coast on Monday, Kobe Bryant was left befuddled and bemused by those who declared him greedy and uncaring about chasing championships.
“This was easy,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports on Monday night. “This wasn’t a negotiation. The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player.
“I simply agreed to the offer.”
That seems like a no-brainer. When someone offers you — an aging NBA shooting guard — $48.5 million over two years, you take it. Woj’s report explained that the Lakers came up with a plan in mind that would secure Bryant’s place on this roster while still allowing space for another max-contract player.
Over the years, as the column states, Bryant has likely been worth more to the Lakers than he’s been paid, and Los Angeles is now betting that securing Kobe for the rest of his career — or for the next two years, at least — will ensure ridiculous television ratings and the resulting royalties gold mine.
Doctors are saying Bryant’s Achilles is ready to go, and the Lakers must believe them wholeheartedly.
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