AEG says Kobe Bryant jersey retirement netted it $824,000 in merchandise sales

AEG, the owner of the Staples Center, had a huge sales day from Monday's jersey retirement of former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

The company sold $824,000 in Kobe merchandise at its four locations that day, according to Sean Ryan, AEG's vice president of merchandise.

"You couldn't make that number up," Ryan said, referring to the fact that the final sales tally had both an 8 and 24 in it, the two numbers the Lakers retired.

The sales number included $616,000 at the Staples Center, $147,000 in sales online, $39,000 at a New Era hat store and $22,000 at the Lakers Store in El Segundo, California.

Kobe jerseys made for the event sold for $524 each, while hats sold for $38.24. Eight limited-edition hats with an ostrich brim were offered for $5,824.08 each, but there were no takers earlier in the week.

While the merchandise sold on Monday made up one of the highest single-day revenues for the company, it didn't come close to matching the amount of gear sold for Bryant's last game in April 2016.

That day, AEG sold about $1.9 million worth of Bryant gear at its locations.

Bryant's 8 and 24 became the 10th and 11th numbers retired by the Lakers.