It’s July 1st, Which Means It’s Time for the Mets to Pay Bobby Bonilla Another $1.19M

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! It’s July 1st, the day former Mets player once again banks a $1,193,248.20 check from the team.

Indeed, July 1 will be a great day for Bonilla all the way until the year 2035, according to ESPN.

The big payday began in 2000 when the New York Mets agreed to buy out Bonilla’s contract. But instead of paying him the full $5.9 million remaining on his contract, the team agreed to pay him $1.19 million once a year for 25 years starting in 2011. That payout includes an eight percent interest rate.

ESPN notes that at the time the deal was brokered, the team was expecting to realize a huge windfall in profits in investments. Unfortunately for the team, those investments had been made with Bernie Madoff who was later convicted as a fraudster. Needless to say, those profits never materialized.

Bonilla may be rolling in Mets cash for having retired from the league, but the Mets deal is not the only one he negotiated as he looked to make his exit from pro ball over a decade ago. Bonilla is also enjoying a deferred payout from the Baltimore Orioles. Bonilla won a $500,000 a year payout from Baltimore which also carried a 25-year term. The Oriole payouts began in 2004 and will continue until 2029.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.