Pay day: Mets owe Bonilla latest installment of deferred money
It's always a party on July 1 at Bobby Bonilla's house.
No, Bonilla's not Canadian and celebrating Canada Day. July 1 marks the six-time All-Star's annual pay day from the New York Mets, who must pay him $1,193,248.20 in deferred money - as they must do every summer through 2035.
Bonilla's disastrous second tenure with the Mets ended after the 1999 season amid low production and allegations he was playing cards in the clubhouse while the Mets were being eliminated from the playoffs. He was owed approximately $5.9 million for the 2000 season, but since the Mets didn't want him back, an agreement was reached to defer the money with an eight percent annual interest rate, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN. The Mets would have used interest earned from their accounts with Bernie Madoff, who was found guilty of fraud using ponzi schemes in 2008, to pay off the deal, which will total $29.8 million when it's finished.
Just to put this in perspective, Bonilla is being paid more money by the 2016 Mets than 13 current players - including three of their dynamic young starters - despite having retired in 2001.
| Player | 2016 WAR | 2016 Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Noah Syndergaard | 3.7 | $535,375 |
| Jacob deGrom | 2.0 | $607,000 |
| Steven Matz | 1.8 | $515,750 |
| Michael Conforto | 0.6 | $517,246 |
| Travis d'Arnaud | 0.0 | $542,604 |
| Wilmer Flores | -0.5 | $526,014 |
| Logan Verrett | -0.4 | $514,875 |
| Ruben Tejada* | -0.4 | $491,803 |
| Bobby Bonilla | Retired | $1,193,248.20" |
*Tejada was released by the Mets in March and now plays for the Giants.
(Data courtesy Cot's Baseball Contracts and FanGraphs)
Bonilla's retirement fund apparently doesn't stop there, though. According to Rovell, Bonilla's agent Dennis Gilbert told FiveThirtyEight's digital interview series "Contracts" (which will be released later this summer) that the 53-year-old has another deferral deal with the Mets from his first free-agent contract with the club that's paying him $12.5 million through 2023.
For the record, Bonilla made two All-Star appearances and hit .270/.356/.495 with 95 home runs over his pair of stints with the Mets.