Bobby Bonilla, a former MLB player, receives a check for $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets every July 1. This annual payment started in 2011 and will continue through 2035, even though Bonilla last played for the Mets in 1999 and retired from MLB in 2001. In 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla’s contract.
Instead of paying him the lump sum, they negotiated a deal to make annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years, starting July 1, 2011, with an 8% interest rate. At the time, the Mets’ ownership was invested in a Bernie Madoff account that promised significant returns, but the scheme was later revealed to be a Ponzi scheme. Bonilla’s agent, Dennis Gilbert, successfully negotiated the deferred payments.
In total, Bonilla will receive $29.8 million from the Mets through this arrangement. Deferred payment contracts are not uncommon in MLB.
Bonilla’s notable deferred payments
Other notable examples include:
– Bobby Bonilla’s second deferred-contract plan with the Mets and Orioles, paying him $500,000 a year for 25 years, starting in 2004. – Bret Saberhagen receiving $250,000 a year from the Mets for 25 years, starting in 2004. – Max Scherzer set to receive $105 million from the Nationals through 2028.
– Manny RamÃrez collecting $24.2 million from the Red Sox through 2026. – Chris Davis receiving $59 million from the Orioles over a 15-year period, starting in 2022 and continuing through 2037. Recently, Shohei Ohtani signed a unique contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He will receive just $2 million annually during the 10-year deal, but from 2034 to 2043, he will receive $68 million per year, totaling $680 million in deferred payments. The practice of deferring player payments offers long-term financial security to athletes and can be traced back to the 1960s. While Bobby Bonilla’s deferred payment plan is perhaps the most well-known example, it is not the first or the last of its kind in professional sports.
