At the time, there was debate about whether Bryant placed the Lakers in a tough spot because his deal, which is the richest in the NBA, would take up a large chunk of the salary cap. Bryant made sure everyone realized that was not his problem to deal with, it was for the Lakers front office to figure out. 

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Bryant’s opinion has not changed, and he acknowledged as much with news of the NBA’s new TV deal, which is worth $24 billion over nine years and kicks in during the summer of 2016-17 and lasts until 2024-2025.