When the calendar turns to July, for most people it’s just the start of another month, but for one former MLB player, he is getting paid.
It’s Bobby Bonilla Day.
The 59-year-old former slugger continues to relish in the outcome of the Mets’ major mistake. For the 12th consecutive year, Bonilla is collecting $1,193,248.20 from the Mets.
Bonilla played for the Mets from 1992 to 1995 before being traded to the Orioles and he has been getting paid by them ever since.
In 1999, the Mets released Bonilla, but he was still owed money from the team.
The team only owed him $5.9 million at the time of his release but decided to defer his contract until 2035 at eight percent interest.
“I know Bobby is happy about it, but we don’t talk about it much,” Bonilla’s former agent, Dennis Gilbert, told USA Today Sports in 2018. “It’s just unfortunate [the Wilpons] got hoodwinked in the Madoff deal. Otherwise, it would have been a win-win for both sides.”
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Bonilla and his agent negotiated a deal with the Mets, where the money he was owed would be deferred for 10 years and he would receive a total of $29.8 million spread over 25 years. As a result, every July 1, Bobby Bonilla receives a check from the New York Mets for nearly $1.2 million. This is the 12th year he will receive that payment.
After receiving today’s payment, Bonilla is in line to receive another 13 payments worth more than $15 million.
