Overview
- The New York Mets paid Bobby Bonilla $1,193,248.20 on Wednesday, bringing total Mets disbursements under the deferred schedule to about $19.09 million.
- The yearly checks stem from a 2000 deal that converted a $5.9 million buyout into 25 annual installments from 2011–2035 with an 8% interest rate.
- The franchise expected to cover the obligation with investment returns tied to Bernie Madoff, and Madoff’s 2009 Ponzi collapse wiped out those expected gains and strained former owner Fred Wilpon’s finances.
- Bonilla has publicly embraced the payments, the Mets and owner Steve Cohen have leaned into the publicity, and fans now mark July 1 as the informal ‘Bobby Bonilla Day.’
- Bonilla also receives a separate $500,000-per-year annuity from the Orioles through 2028, and the Mets’ annual payments will continue each July 1 through the final installment in 2035.