Here are some things to know about Bobby Bonilla Day
Every July like clockwork, from 2011 through this year—and continuing through 2035—Bobby Bonilla, the former MLB star, has reason to smile. That’s because he automatically receives $1.19 million from the New York Mets as part of his year-2000 contract buyout.
The payout amount, what the Mets owed Bonilla under his contract, was $5.9 million. By the time the 25-year payments are completed, Bonilla will have collected nearly $30 million from the Mets under that arrangement.
That’s why every year, July 1 is remembered by many MLB writers, fans and followers as “Bobby Bonilla Day.” It’s a mock holiday meant to deride the Mets, Bonilla and the crazy things that happen between players and owners.
Who wouldn’t want a Bobby Bonilla kind of day?
After all, the average Joe thinks, wouldn’t it be nice to get paid a million bucks once a year for work you wrapped up 25 years ago, and all you have to do is put out your hand to collect it?
So now you know what Bobby Bonilla Day is and why you might have heard about it a few times. And it’s quite likely that you think the villain in this whole story is Bonilla himself—a greedy player whose career was about to be over, who selfishly took advantage of his team with a deal that continues to line his pockets with cash. That’s the obvious take on it. But there’s more to the Bobby Bonilla story than we usually hear. Here are a handful of facts surrounding Bonilla and his agreement that you rarely hear about.
Bobby Bonilla had a decent, long career with some good seasons.
Did you know that Bonilla was with the Mets twice during his career? From ’92–’95, and then he returned for the 1999 season.
With the Pirates, Bonilla had some good seasons too. He was an All-Star four times, a runner-up in MVP voting once and hit 114 of his 287 career home runs.
- He played in the Majors for 16 years, with eight different teams. He started with the White Sox for part of 1986, his rookie season, but finished that year and the next five with Pittsburgh. He then played for the Mets, Orioles, Marlins and Dodgers, before returning to the Mets for part of the ’99 season.
- Did you know Bonilla did not wind up his career after his last season with the Mets in ’99? In 2000, he joined the Atlanta, then finished his career with St. Louis the next season.
Not a good return with the Mets or for the Mets.
In his ’99 comeback season with New York, Bonilla hit only .160, with four home runs in 60 games. He wasn’t a fan favorite, and the Mets didn’t want to sign him for the 2000 season, so they decided to buy out his contract.
The Mets owed Bonilla $5.9 million. They could have bought out his contract and called it a day. But they chose not to—and that’s a decision that cost them $30 million. Here are some interesting facts about that arrangement.
It was the Mets who wanted to defer the contract payment.
It was the Mets who approached Bonilla and his agent (Dennis Gilbert) with the idea of deferring the buyout amount, putting it off till a later time. They wanted to hang on to that money, close to $6 million, to acquire other players for the upcoming season and future, so they came up with a plan to pay Bonilla his due over time. But just like buying a pickup truck over time instead of buying it in cash, there’s a price to pay for putting off now for later.
- How the $5.9 million deferral worked. In 2000, the Mets wanted to hold off making any contract payments to Bonilla for 10 years. The deal they arranged with Dennis Gilbert paid Bonilla out over 25 years, with the first payment not starting until 2011 and continuing to 2035.
- Pay me now or pay me later. They negotiated an agreement that guaranteed Bonilla an annual interest rate of 8% over those 25 years. News reports said the Mets offered 6%, Gilbert asked for 10%, so they settled for 8%.
- New math. Starting in 2011, 12 years after his last season with the Mets, and continuing through 2035, Bonilla has received and will continue to receive an annual payment of slightly more than $1.1 million.
- Big bonus. Over that time span, he will have collected over $29.8 million…$24 million more than his $5.9 million buyout would have been in 2000.
What were the Mets thinking? What did anyone think?
For more than a decade, MLB fans have viewed the Bonilla deal as a major disaster. All they focus on—and for good reason—is the outcome, the numbers, how $6 million turned into $30 million. Couldn’t the Mets see what they were getting into?
The answer is yes, of course they did. Remember, it was their idea to begin with. So why did they do it? Truth is, the Mets were pretty certain they were going to come out way ahead in the deal. Why? Because they had invested a lot of money with a savvy financial investor who was promising and delivering fantastic returns for his investors.
That investment expert was Bernie Madoff, who we now know was running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. But nobody knew that in the 1990s and 2000s. Every investor with Madoff was enjoying the returns and figured their investments would always be so rewarding.
Even the Mets, who confidently believed they were going to come out looking like geniuses with the Bonilla deal.
Little did they know.
And don’t even get me started on the $500,000 Bonilla receives each year from the Baltimore Orioles….
Resources: finance.yahoo.com/news/bobby-bonilla-contract-day; sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/happy-bobby-bonilla-day; espn.com/mlb/story/new-york-mets-make-initial-payment; foxsports.com/stories/mlb/what-is-bobby-bonilla-day; baseball-reference.com