Kobe Bryant died unexpectedly. Let’s calculate how much money he earned during his career.

Kobe was selected with the 13th overall pick in 1996. His rookie contract was three years and $3.5 million. Kobe was only 17 years old at the time, and his father signed the contract for him. In 1999, the rookie contract was about to expire, and the Lakers renewed Kobe's contract for 6 years and 70 million US dollars. In the summer of 2004, Kobe became a free agent. He rejected offers from other teams and signed a seven-year, $136.4 million long-term contract with the Lakers. On April 2, 2010, Kobe and the Lakers reached a three-year contract worth $83.5 million (it was initially reported to be $87 million, but the rumor was later refuted). On November 25, 2013, Kobe and the Lakers reached a two-year, $48.5 million early contract extension.

In Kobe’s 20-year career, he had five contracts per year, which totaled about 340 million U.S. dollars per year. Of course, he also had to pay taxes. The taxes on each continent in the United States are different. It's hard to understand.

Let’s take a look at Kobe’s endorsements. When he first entered the NBA, Kobe signed a 6-year, $48 million sneaker contract with Adidas. Old fans should remember Kobe’s first pair of signature sneakers. It's the Equipment KB 8. Kobe also endorsed Coca-Cola's Sprite beverage and filmed commercials with Jay Chou. He also endorsed McDonald's, Spalding Basketball, Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA's brand peanut butter, NBA2K series, etc. This was all early in his career.

At the peak of his career, Kobe signed a five-year $45 million endorsement contract with Nike. In 2009, Kobe cooperated with Swiss high-end watch manufacturer Nubeo to launch a series of limited edition watches named Black Mamba. On December 13, 2010, Kobe signed a two-year contract with Turkish Airlines and became its image ambassador. On February 17, 2011, Kobe signed a contract with Mercedes-Benz and became the smart brand ambassador in China. On January 16, 2013, Kobe became the spokesperson for Lenovo smartphones in China and Southeast Asia. In August 2015, Kobe became the spokesperson for the mobile game "NBA Heroes".

Kobe also likes to publish books. In June 2010, Kobe's first book "Kobe 24" was released globally in China. In September last year, Kobe also came to China to promote his new book, "Wuznard Series: Training Camp", which also sold very well. Kobe's jersey sales ranked first in the NBA for four seasons, and he also made a lot of money. In addition, the short film "Dear Basketball" that Kobe co-produced also won the 90th Academy Award for Best Short Film.

Kobe is a great player and a great businessman. After retiring, he has his own company and is excellent in many fields! It can be said that it is difficult to estimate how much money Kobe has earned in his career. Some endorsement contracts have not been disclosed to the outside world. According to conservative estimates, Kobe's worth will not be less than 1 billion US dollars, so there is no need to worry about Vanessa and San A daughter.