While most of us are firing up the grill and easing into the holiday weekend, New York Mets fans are bracing themselves for a tradition that’s somehow become more famous than anything their team has done on the field in years. Welcome to Bobby Bonilla Day, where a man who last swung a bat in 2001 still rakes in $1.19 million every single July 1 — and will keep doing so until 2035.
The Deal That Outlived His Mets Career
Bonilla had a solid MLB career. Six-time All-Star. Three-time Silver Slugger. World Series champion with the Marlins in ’97. He was a name—a bat you wanted in the lineup. But by 1999, during his second go-around with the Mets, he was past his prime. The team wanted him gone. But here’s the catch — they still owed him $5.9 million.
So Bonilla’s agent, a man who probably deserves a plaque in the Hall of Fame himself just for this one deal, came to the Mets with an offer: Let’s defer the payment. Don’t pay now. Pay later — starting in 2011. And oh yeah, add 8% interest. Seemed like a wild ask, right? Not to the then-owner Fred Wilpon.
Madoff, Miscalculations, and Million-Dollar Mistakes
Why would the Mets agree to such a deal? Because Fred Wilpon thought he was sitting on a financial goldmine — his investments with Bernie Madoff. At the time, Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was dishing out what appeared to be 10% annual returns. So, in Wilpon’s eyes, agreeing to pay Bonilla 8% interest over time was a money-saving move. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
That $5.9 million obligation has since ballooned into a $29.8 million commitment, paid out in yearly slices of $1.19 million. And with Madoff’s empire revealed to be smoke and mirrors, the Mets were left holding a contract that’s become more famous than some of their best draft picks.
Baseball’s Most Celebrated Deferred Payment
Every July 1, fans log onto social media for the annual ritual of celebrating Bobby Bonilla Day. It’s part roast, part admiration, and all comedy. Memes flood Twitter, podcasts roll out the story once again, and broadcasters inevitably mention the deal during Mets games. It’s baseball’s most expensive inside joke.
Even NFL front-office veteran Andrew Brandt has weighed in, saying, “Every team, in every sport, would rather defer than pay in the present. Money now is better than money later.” In other words, this isn’t unique, but Bonilla made it iconic.
So, while fireworks fly and flags wave, Bobby Bonilla is cashing another check — just for not playing baseball. The man turned a buyout into a retirement plan that would make any financial planner jealous. And with 11 more years of payouts to go, this story is far from over.
