Bobby Bonilla Day was this week and Brandon Carr puts the numbers and the nuances into perspective for those who may not know why a 58-year-old retired player still gets a bag worth $1.2 million every July 1.
Yeah, right before the family barbeque
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Millions of Americans are in a celebratory mood as the calendar transitions into a new month. But along with the Fourth of July festivities, baseball fans are familiar with another event known as Bobby Bonilla Day.
Today, and every July 1 through 2035, Bonilla can celebrate as he will amass a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets.
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day.
**Bonilla hasn’t played for the New York Mets since 1999. But, until 2035, the team still has to pay him yearly increments of $1.19 million. https://t.co/ifEHizQlxC
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) July 1, 2020
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the number is actually $1.4 million and here’s why:
“Every year between now and 2028, Bobby will earn $1.4 million every July 1st ($1.2 million +225k from the two contracts). Then from 2028 through 2035 he’ll earn $1.2 million (because the first unusual contract will have run out).”
The former MLB star and native New Yorker went undrafted out of high school during the 1981 draft. After hard work and continuous dedication to his craft, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a Minor League contract.
Injuries left the young sensation unprotected by the Bucco’s in the Rule 5 Draft, so the Chicago White Sox snagged him and placed him on the 40-man roster in 1986. But he grew frustrated with the organization and was later traded back to the Pirates, where he occupied the outfield with fellow MLB bro Barry Bonds.
Bobby Bonilla turns 52 today. Here are some awesome pictures of him and Barry Bonds: pic.twitter.com/Lv7t3ZzhC3
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) February 23, 2015
He returned home to New York in 1991 after inking a five-year, 29-million-dollar deal with the Mets, making him the highest-paid player in the National League. He made two All-Star game appearances in the Big Apple but later got traded to the Baltimore Orioles over disagreements with the franchise.
Bonilla signed a free-agent deal with the Florida Marlins, who won the 1997 World Series and later got traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the 1998 season.
The disgruntled outfielder got sent back to the Mets during the 1999 season, where he only played 60 games before his eventual release for altercations with manager Bobby Valentine.
He later joined the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals in his final seasons in the big leagues before retiring ahead of the 2001 season.
At the end of his career, Bonilla amassed 2,010 hits, 1,173 RBI, 287 home runs, six All-Star game appearances, and a championship.
At the turn of the new decade, the Mets still owed Bonilla $5.9 million, but the front office didn’t want to pay him up front. So his agent worked with the organization, and both sides struck a deal by agreeing to deferred payments of $1.2 million for over 25 years that would start July 1, 2011, which includes an eight percent interest.
The Mets ownership had unsatisfied accounts with Bernie Madoff, the financier who ran one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history that promised double-digit returns for the organization who took a drastic hit financially. So, the Mets were kind of strapped for cash.
Bonilla according to reports has an estimated net worth of $20 million, but thanks in part to the lucrative contract, he and his family are set for life as the 58-year-old will collect payments until his 72nd birthday.
Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!!!
Brandon Carr talks deferred money, players who collect huge checks in retirement, stacking yearly salaries as they sit on their couches at home…and of course #BobbyBonilla Day, which occurs every July 1.
When the calendar flips to July 1 for most MLB fans, their focus is on Independence Day, an important time in this country’s history that is celebrated with food, drink, fun and a little bit of baseball as the cherry on top. A moment in summer where everyone realizes it’s almost time for the All-Star Game.
But for New York Mets fans and Bobby Bonilla, July 1 is one of the most notorious days in baseball history documenting the short relationship between this MLBbro financial genius and the franchise. Over the past weekend the calendar hit July 1, meaning the New York Mets deposited a check totaling $1,193,248.20 into Bobby Bo’s bank account. It’s a financial transaction that started in 2011 and will continue until 2035. When this business arrangement ends, our MLBbro Icon will be 72 years of age.
It’s Bobby Bonilla Day ! | This MLBbro Makes Millions In His Sleep Every July 1
July 1 is better known as “Bobby Bonilla Day”. While many look at this day as a running inside joke for fans, the story behind this infamous deal is better than a three paragraph explanation crunching the numbers. For the record here they are.
Back to Mets. This might have been shrewd business had the man handling the investment not been Bernie Madoff, who was convicted for running the biggest Ponzi scheme in history and is currently serving a 150-year sentence. After realizing that money was gone and the Bonilla’s money train had left the station, the Mets and Wilpon were financially hamstrung until Steve Cohen bought the team in 2020.
Wild story huh?
Only, that’s not the end. The Mets annual payouts are not the only part to Bobby Bonilla’s humongous windfall. The Baltimore Orioles have a similar financial arrangement with Bonilla and have to pay him $500,000 a year for 25 years. That deal started in 2004.
But he’s not the only MLBbro Icon to invest wisely and defer payments on his contract.
“The Kid” definitely handled his negotiations like an adult when he decided to defer half of his $116 million deal over nine years with the Cincinnati Reds. For the Reds, it allowed flexibility at the time to build the roster while Griffey Jr. was setting up his portfolio with a steady check after retirement. In a deal that started in 2009 and concludes in 2024, the Reds pay our MLBbro Icon $3.59 million. Oh, by the way, that money was compounded at four percent interest.
Do you think deferred contracts are a thing of the past? Oh, there is a current MLBbro player that decided to join the deferment financial plan.
According to USA Today, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts deferred $115 of his 12-year, $365 million deal. Unlike the aforementioned players, Betts doesn’t have the advantage of having compounded interest in his deal.
Sadly, Bobby Bonilla will be known for his own day for the next 13 years as opposed to being a great player. Just look at the resume…
Happy Bonilla Day to Bobby Bonilla and the New York Mets fan base from MLBbro.com
Brandon Carr breaks it down from Bobby Bonilla To ‘The Kid’ who is getting that forever young money at 52.
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