July 1st, a special day for many but maybe not for the New York Mets.
As July 1st arrives once again, Bobby Bonilla, who hasn’t worn a Mets jersey since 1999, continues to receive over $1 million annually. The Mets have been making this payment to Bonilla each year, even though he is no longer part of the team.
Bonilla was acquired by the Mets from the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 1999 baseball season. After playing for the Mets that year, the team decided to part ways with him and bought out his contract before the following season, still owing Bonilla, a former All-Star and 1997 World Series champion, $5.9 million.
Bonilla’s agent proposed to the Mets that they could release him without making an immediate payment. Instead, they could defer the payments with interest, paying him in annual installments from 2011 to 2035.
During this time, the Mets’ owners had investments in a Bernie Madoff account that promised high returns. The team anticipated significant profits if the Madoff account delivered as expected. Unfortunately, that scenario never materialized.
Bonilla will continue to receive payments until 2035, by which time he will be 72 years old.
Madoff was arrested in 2008 for orchestrating one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. He was convicted and passed away earlier this year.
In 2035, the Mets will have paid Bonilla a total of $29.8 million for the 2000 baseball season, during which he played for their division rival, the Atlanta Braves.
