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A portrait of Bobby Bonilla, third baseman for the New York Mets during Spring Training for the1992 Major League Baseball National League season on 30 March 1992 at First Data Field, Port St. Lucie, Florida, United States. (Photo by John Swart/Allsport/Getty Images)
Why July 1st Is 'Bobby Bonilla Day'
It's July 1st, which means it's "Bobby Bonilla Day" - the day the former Mets slugger gets a $1.2 million check from his former team.
It all goes back to 2000, when the Mets released Bonilla and bought out his contract. Instead of paying the $5.9 million he was owed upfront, the team arranged a deferred payment plan at eight percent interest, starting in 2011.
That means Bonilla will be paid $1.2 million every year for *twenty-five* years, pocketing a whopping $29.8 million between now and 2035, despite playing his last MLB game back in 2001.
At the time, the Mets thought they could afford the deal because of the investment returns they were getting from a financier named Bernie Madoff - and you know how that story turned out.
