He hasn’t played in MLB for more than two decades. One team is paying him $1.2 million a year until 2035

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"Bobby Bonilla Continues to Receive Annual Payments from Mets Despite Long Retirement"

He hasn’t played in MLB for more than two decades. One team is paying him $1.2 million a year until 2035 analysis cover image CNN 8.5
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Original Article Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/01/sport/bobby-bonilla-day-new-york-mets-mlb-spt
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TruthLens AI Summary

Bobby Bonilla, a former Major League Baseball player, has not played professionally in over two decades, yet he continues to receive a substantial annual salary from the New York Mets. Each July 1, famously known as 'Bobby Bonilla Day,' he collects a check of nearly $1.2 million, a payment that will continue until 2035. This unique financial arrangement stems from a contract negotiated by his agent, Dennis Gilbert, which defers Bonilla's payments. The deal was a strategic move by former Mets owner Fred Wilpon, who was misled by disgraced financier Bernie Madoff into believing his investments were secure. Instead of paying Bonilla directly, Wilpon opted to defer the remaining $6 million on his contract, hoping to profit from Madoff's Ponzi scheme, which ultimately resulted in significant financial losses for the Mets and numerous investors.

Bonilla's contract is a remarkable example of how deferred payment agreements can benefit players long after their careers have ended. The arrangement, which has resulted in Bonilla receiving a total payout of approximately $29.8 million, highlights the complexities of player contracts in Major League Baseball. While deferred payments are not uncommon in the league, Bonilla's case stands out due to the unusual circumstances surrounding it. Recently, other players, such as Shohei Ohtani, have also chosen to defer portions of their salaries, demonstrating a trend among modern players to secure long-term financial stability. The concept of deferred payments in sports was initially popularized in the 1960s, and Bonilla's situation serves as a prominent reminder of the potential benefits and risks associated with such financial strategies in the world of professional sports.

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Source URL: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/01/sport/bobby-bonilla-day-new-york-mets-mlb-spt

He hasn’t picked up a professionalbaseballglove in 24 years, but he’s still picking up a paycheck – and a hefty one at that.

It’s July 1, which forNew York Metsfans means it’s Bobby Bonilla Day.

The former slugger retired in 2001 with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he has been collecting a check of nearly $1.2 million from the Mets every year on July 1 for more than a decade.

The deal is part of a contract negotiated by Bonilla’s agent Dennis Gilbert, which will pay Bonilla $1,193,248.20 every year until 2035. Bonilla, a former All-Star who last played with the Mets in 1999, will be 72 when his contract with the team expires.

How was Gilbert able to secure such a sweet deal for his client? They can both thankdisgraced financier Bernie Madoffand former Mets owner Fred Wilpon.

The Mets wanted to part ways with Bonilla in 1999, but he had $6 million left on his contract. Wilpon believed he was getting a huge return on his investments through Madoff but the Mets owner turned out to be a victim of Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme.

Instead of paying Bonilla outright, Wilpon opted to defer payments so that the money could be unwittingly invested into Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Bonilla’s agent Gilbert negotiated with the team to defer payments until 2011, with an 8% annual interest rate.

Madoff was the mastermind of the most notorious Ponzi scheme in history. A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that uses funds from more recent investors to pay profits to earlier investors, leading them to believe that their investments are part of a successful enterprise.

Madoff, who died in 2021, was serving 150 years in prison for the multibillion-dollar scheme that he ran for decades.

In total, Bonilla will walk away with a $29.8 million payday because of Wilpon’s blunder.

Players being paid over a long period of time isn’t uncommon in MLB, with contracts often deferring money down the line.

Most notably recently, after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Japanese two-way starShohei Ohtanitoa 10-year, $700 million contract in 2023, Ohtanidecided to annually defer $68 million of his $70 million average salary.

That means Ohtani will be paid $2 million a year over the contract and the deferrals – totaling $680 million – will begin in 2034. Starting then, Ohtani will receive $68 million per year from the Dodgers until 2043.

The Dodgers have made deferring paymentsa common themein recent times, also doing so when signing Blake Snell and Tommy Edman.

But this idea has been around for a long time now, after it wasfirst popularizedby “The Dolgoff Plan” in the 1960s when an accountant, Ralph Dolgoff, helped the American Basketball Association (ABA) compete with the NBA by allowing teams to offer payments spread over multiple years in an attempt to attract players with the appeal of long-term security.

So while Mr. Bonilla is likely one of the most famous beneficiaries of deferred payment schemes, he is not the first and will most certainly not be the last.

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Source: CNN