While Kobe Bryant's freedom is in the air pending his trial, the lucrative nature of his new Lakers contract isn't. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Now that Kobe Bryant has signed on the dotted line with the Lakers, there's only one question left for the 25-year-old superstar: What happens if he gets convicted and goes to jail?

As it turns out, he'll still get paid handsomely by the Lakers.

Bryant's new contract calls for him to get a lump sum payment of $9.7 million, or 70 percent of his $14.1 million first-year salary, on Aug. 15, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. The provision is important because the rest of Bryant's seven-year, $136 million deal could be declared null and void if he gets convicted and sent to jail. By front-loading his new deal, the Lakers superstar -- whose trial in Eagle, Colo., is not scheduled to begin until Aug. 27 -- is guaranteed of getting most of his first-year money at least.

A phone message to Bryant's representative, Rob Pelinka, was not returned. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak referred questions about the contract to the league. "I'm not going to comment on players' contracts, or what [provisions] might or might not be in there," Kupchak said.

The Lakers' agreement to give Bryant the money before his felony sexual assault trial represents something of a risk for the club. Bryant faces four-to-20 years in prison if convicted, and the Lakers technically would be under no obligation to fulfill the contract if Bryant gets jail time. A "morals" clause in the standard NBA player contract gives a team the right to terminate a deal for a felony conviction. Specifically, the clause states that a team may void a contract if a player "at any time fails, refuses or neglects to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime), and good sportsmanship, to keep himself in first-class physical condition, or to obey the team's training rules."

During Bryant's free agency period, some speculated he might seek language guaranteeing full payment even in the event of a conviction. Although it is unclear whether Bryant ever actually tried to do so, it would not have been allowed by the NBA. "We would not approve a contract that would guarantee payment regardless of the outcome of legal proceedings," league spokesman Brian McIntyre said.

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However, the NBA does allow contracts to contain a certain percentage of money to be paid up front. The Lakers apparently used this flexibility in structuring Bryant's deal. According to the source, Bryant's deal also requires him to get 70 percent of each subsequent year's salary on Sept. 1 of each season. Only in this season, with his trial scheduled for late August, does he get the lump sum on Aug. 15.

As for what might happen to Bryant if the Lakers wish to keep him despite a conviction, the NBA is staying tight-lipped for now. Some expect the league would follow the Latrell Sprewell precedent. After the former Warriors star choked then-coach P.J. Carlesimo in Dec. 1997, he was suspended without pay for the rest of the season. When he returned the following season, after being traded to the Knicks, his contract was restored as if he had never left. If Bryant were to get four years in prison, for example, he might then be able to return to the Lakers for the final three years of his contract (assuming he decided not to exercise his opt-out after the fifth season). That would probably be the best-case scenario for the Lakers, though Kupchak apparently isn't worried about it. "Whatever the risk may be, we feel comfortable going forward," he said. "That's about all I can say."

And the way things are going for the Eagle County prosecutor's office of late, Kupchak appears to have good reason to be optimistic. In fact, one of the more remarkable aspects of the whole Bryant case is how so few around the league seem to think he's going to get convicted. "It's amazing," one Western Conference executive said. "It's like nobody even thinks it's a possibility anymore."

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.