Every July 1st brings an unusual celebration in the baseball world as Bobby Bonilla, now 62, receives his annual $1,193,248.20 paycheck from the New York Mets. This remarkable financial arrangement has transformed the former All-Star into a symbol of creative contract structuring, turning what seemed like a simple team buyout into one of sports’ most fascinating deferred payment stories.
Money Still Flowing
According to ESPN, the genesis of this extraordinary deal dates back to 2000, when the Mets desperately sought to part ways with underperforming Bonilla, who had $5.9 million remaining on his contract. Rather than cutting a check immediately, the organization opted for a more complex financial maneuver that would haunt them for decades.
Under the guidance of agent Dennis Gilbert, Bonilla negotiated a deferred payment structure that began in 2011 and included an 8% annual interest rate. The deal transformed the original $5.9 million obligation into 25 annual payments totaling nearly $30 million, extending until 2035 when Bonilla will be 72 years old.
The Mets’ willingness to defer these payments stemmed from their ownership’s confidence in what they believed were lucrative investments managed by Bernie Madoff. Former owner Fred Wilpon thought he was generating substantial returns through Madoff’s operation, making the deferred payment structure appear financially advantageous. However, this strategy backfired spectacularly when Madoff’s investment scheme was revealed as history’s most notorious Ponzi scheme.
Madoff, who died in 2021 while serving a 150-year prison sentence, had been operating a multibillion-dollar fraud for decades. His scheme used funds from newer investors to pay returns to earlier ones, creating an illusion of successful investing that ultimately collapsed. The Mets became unwitting victims of this financial catastrophe, turning Bonilla’s contract into an expensive lesson about investment risk.
What makes Bonilla’s situation particularly striking is how his annual payment compares to current player salaries. Due to baseball’s salary structure, which keeps young players at minimum wage levels, several talented athletes are earning less than Bonilla this season.
When The Brand Start Up posted this on its Instagram page, many weighed in.
“One of my favorite contracts and deals until this day! I don’t know him personally but well done sir WELL DONE!” one person wrote.
Another noted, “Proud moment in black and sport’s history” as someone else commented, “Great job of thinking long term !!! AI did something similar with Reebok …making sure you are taken care of later in life.”
Bonilla isn’t alone in receiving long-term deferred payments. The practice has deep roots in professional sports, dating back to Ralph Dolgoff’s pioneering work in the 1960s with the American Basketball Association. MLB has embraced this structure extensively, with players like Bret Saberhagen, Max Scherzer, and Manny Ramirez all collecting deferred payments years after retirement.
The most dramatic recent example involves Shohei Ohtani’s record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, CNN reports.
Unlike Bonilla’s buyout situation, Ohtani proactively structured his deal to defer $680 million until 2034, when he’ll receive $68 million annually through 2043. This arrangement provides the Dodgers immediate payroll flexibility while giving Ohtani long-term financial security.
Current Mets owner Steve Cohen has embraced the Bonilla payout and the lore behind it, even suggesting annual celebrations at Citi Field. This shift in perspective transforms what could be seen as organizational embarrassment into marketing opportunity, acknowledging the deal’s place in baseball folklore.
Bobby Bonilla Day has evolved beyond simple financial obligation into an annual reminder of how creative contract structures can produce unexpected outcomes.