As former athletes go, Bobby Bonilla continues to have one of the greatest retirement plans ever conceived.
In keeping with tradition — and contractual obligation — the sports world comes together every July 1 to acknowledge Bobby Bonilla Day, the day the New York Mets pay the now-62-year-old former All-Star outfielder just a shade over $1 million.
Why the Mets continue to pay Bobby Bonilla
Long before Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani rewrote the book on deferred contract payments, the Mets struck a bizarre deal with Bonilla to pay him $1,193,248.20 from 2011 through 2035.
There were many twists and turns in Bonilla’s career that led to him receiving his annual windfall.
Bonilla played two stints with the Mets, first signing a then-record five-year, $29 million deal as a free agent in December of 1991, and then again donning the blue and orange for half of the 1999 season.
Despite hitting .325 with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs in 80 games, he was traded in late July of 1995 to the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he played until the end of the following season. He then left via free agency in 1997 for the Florida Marlins on a four-year, $23.3 million contract. However, he was shipped off to the Dodgers the next season.
Bonilla was reacquired by the Mets from the Dodgers prior to the 1999 season with two years and $11.65 million left on his contract. At the time of his release that season, the Mets still owed Bonilla $5.9 million. Rather than pay him outright, former owner Fred Wilpon worked out a deal with Bonilla’s agent to pay the outfielder the aforementioned $1.19 million annually, with an 8% interest rate.
Why do that? Well, team ownership at the time was involved with Bernie Madoff, the disgraced financier who was responsible for the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, and had hoped to make more than enough on the investment to pay off Bonilla’s buyout and then some. Needless to say, Madoff’s promise of double-digit returns to his investors never materialized and he ended up pleading guilty to nearly a dozen federal felonies in 2009.
For those keeping score at home, Bonilla will be 72 the year the payments finally end. When all is said and done, he will walk away with nearly $30 million from the Mets, when they could have just paid him the $5.9 million 36 years earlier.
Bobby Bonilla’s career
Bonilla, a native of the Bronx, had by all metrics a very good career. He played 16 seasons in MLB for eight different teams, including his two go-arounds with the Mets, finishing with a .279 batting average, 2,010 hits, 287 home runs, 1,173 RBIs, and a .358 on-base percentage.
He made six All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger Awards, finished second and third in the NL MVP races in 1990 and ’91, respectively, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and hit a career-high 34 homers with the Mets in 1993.
In 1996, Bonilla helped the Orioles get to the ALCS, and the following year was a member of the Marlins’ World Series championship team.
Jeff CapelliniJeff Capellini has been digital producer at CBS New York for 18 years. He previously worked for The Associated Press and several newspapers.
