Yes, it was a multi-million dollar settlement. And it was based, of course, on the criminal case being dropped. When the criminal case was dropped, the Lakers were free to re-sign Bryant to a 100+ million contract. Which they did.

But of course, neither Stern, the NBA, nor ESPN would ever want anyone to know these things. Having a star who's guilty of rape just isn't good for business.

At that point, Bryant's PR team, and the NBA, began a detaile reinventing Bryant's image in the public eye. Eventually, the entire incident became known as "that thing in Colorado." Not as a rape, not as a young woman's life altered if not irreparably destroyed, but as a blip in the career of a star player.
Must have been part of those bodies that are buried Stern was talking about.