Lakers Sign Kobe to 3-Year, $90M Extension

Kobe Bryant signed a three-year contract extension yesterday worth nearly $90 million that will keep him with the Los Angeles Lakers through the 2013-14 season. The deal will begin after next season. Bryant is making $23 million this season and is due to earn $24.8 million next season. "It's very rare to have a player play his entire career in one city, so I'm very excited," he said.

Bryant, 31, could earn $27.4 million in 2011-12, $30.2 million the following season and more than $32 million in his final year, when he would be 35. The deal means the Lakers achieved two main objectives going into the season—signing Bryant and 7-foot center Pau Gasol to extensions. Bryant could have terminated the last two years of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent last July. He also had the option to become a free agent this summer. "I knew I was going to be here," he said. (More Kobe Bryant stories.)