Bobby Bonilla Sleeps On $1.4 Million Paid By New York Mets Every Year And Here’s How He Did It

Bobby Bonilla Sleeps On $1.4 Million Paid By New York Mets Every Year And Here’s How He Did It

Theiana

Great financial management can take you anywhere you want to be.

The New York Mets have and will write a $1.19 million check to former player Bobby Bonilla on July 1 of each year from 2011 to 2035, even though he has not played for the team in the 21st century.

“We got a guaranteed 8% interest rate,” Dennis Gilbert, the sports agent who negotiated Bonilla’s contract shared, “Made it work and provided him with income until age 65.” A $5.9 million salary was owed to Bonilla for the 2000 season, from which the remainder of the $29.75 million will be derived.

“No one knew about it until it became public knowledge,” Bonilla shared. “It was quite amusing that it suddenly became this phenomenon. Every time I look at Dennis, I say ‘thank you.’”

Richard Martin in the final game of the 1999 regular season, as a pinch-hitter, Antonio Bonilla grounded out to Kevin Young of the Pittsburgh Pirates. After being eliminated from the playoffs, the Queens Kings promptly restructured their roster, beginning with Bobby Bonilla. During the 1999 season, the outfielder appeared in sixty games and hit.

“Yes, 1999 is likely the most difficult year to perform. The year I returned to the Mets was likely the most difficult,” Bonilla said. Bobby Bo earned three Silver Slugger awards, six MLB All-Star selections, and a World Series ring with the 1997 Florida Marlins during his 16-year career in the league.

Before the 1999 season, the Mets acquired Bonilla from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for relief pitcher Mel Rojas. The trade required the New York team to assume the final two years of a $23.3 million contract, which would result in annual payments of $5.9 million.

In 1999, Bonilla made headlines for his struggles on and off the field. He labored to reach base and fought with the press, Mets management, and Bobby Valentine, his namesake and manager. In the sixth game of the National League Championship Series against the Braves, he was observed playing cards in the clubhouse with future Hall of Famer and teammate Rickey Henderson.

The Mets had had enough, so they convened with Bonilla’s agent and reached a retirement agreement that would go down in baseball history. The Mets’ general manager needed to free up funds to sign free agents or a free agent. Gilbert, CEO of the Gilbert Group and special assistant to the Chicago White Sox, said he required the funds immediately to pay the free agent.

Gilbert, who played alongside Dock Ellis in high school and aspired to become the Dodgers’ owner, was known throughout the baseball community as someone who would treat both parties fairly. In exchange for the $5.9 million that the Mets owed Bonilla in 2000, the Mets agreed to pay Bonilla in installments from 2011 to 2035.

And by releasing Bobby Bo and signing the contract, the Mets could sign free agent Mike Hampton, who won the 2000 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award. And when Hampton departed following the Mets’ loss in the World Series to the New York Yankees, the team received the draft choice that would become team legend and former captain David Wright.

This type of transaction occurs occasionally in professional baseball. “Remember, it’s not what you earn or possess that matters. What you keep is what matters,” said Gilbert. “Deferred compensation helps you keep your money.”

The Atlanta Braves will pay Bruce Sutter $45 million over 30 years. In comparison, the Boston Red Sox will pay Manny Ramirez – who last played for the team in 2008 – approximately $30 million from 2011 to 2026. Gilbert, who has represented players such as Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mike Piazza, and Henderson, negotiated deferment agreements for other players, including Bret Saberhagen, Bonilla’s former teammate.

However, Bobby Bonilla’s circumstances are so unique that correspondents have begun to refer to July 1 as “Bobby Bonilla Day.” Part of what made Bonilla’s situation distinct was that Mets owner Fred Wilpon was heavily invested in the massive Ponzi scheme run by his friend Bernie Madoff, which guaranteed an annual return of 10 to 15%.

Madoff was apprehended by federal authorities on December 11, 2008. He was found guilty of fraud, money laundering, false statements, perjury, etc. and the scam cost Wilpon an estimated $700 million.

In addition, the Mets are paying Bonilla for two distinct deferment contracts. Before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1995, the New York native signed the then-largest five-year, \$29 million contract in Major League Baseball history in 1992.

Gilbert asserts that the contract would increase the deferment payment to approximately $50 million. However, the specifics of the deferment agreements are unknown. In any event, not bad for a slugger who earned \$46.45 million during his playing career.

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