What is Bobby Bonilla day and why is it celebrated on July 1?

The first day of July is Bobby Bonilla Day, a mock holiday named after a former third baseman of the New York Mets. This day is not his birthday, nor does it mark a historical home run or some other feat of baseball.

It is when he receives his annual salary of $1.19 million from the Mets, a paycheck he will continue to receive until 2035, when he will be 72 years old. This is not the usual retirement scheme of the team - Bonilla just happened to make the right deal at the right time.

Bonilla’s sound financial decision

In 1999, the Mets released the six-time All-Star with $5.9 million remaining on his contract. Instead of getting the balance in full, Bonilla agreed to a deferred payment plan proposed by the team. He would defer the money for ten years, and in return he would earn eight percent interest and receive annual payments for 25 years.

The Wilpons, who owned the Mets at the time, were anticipating huge profits from their investments with fraudster Bernie Madoff. They also assumed they would get a windfall if they invested the money owed to Bonilla instead of paying out the rest of his contract in one lump sum, and so they suggested the protracted payment scheme.

The proposal was thought to be mutually beneficial, but the team owners eventually lost a lot of money to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and had to give the outfielder the bigger payout to boot.

The power of compounded interest

In 2011, Bonilla started receiving his payments after the initial $5.9 million ballooned to $29.8 million. This amount spread over 25 years comes to $1.19 million per annum.

Since 2021, the Mets have embraced the “holiday” instead of lamenting the hole that it burned in their pocket. The team decided to commemorate the day by holding a special overnight stay for fans, with one guest even getting the chance to throw the ceremonial first pitch.

Of course, deferred payments are not unusual in Sports, with several players receiving some form of payment from past clubs. Rafael Devers will be paid $3.75 million every February 1 and November 30 through 2043 by Boston. Ken Griffey Jr. receives $3.59 million per year from the Reds until 2024. Manny Ramirez will earn $1.968 million per year until 2026 from Boston. Matt Holliday began receiving an annual payment of $1.5 million in 2020 from the Cardinals, and will continue to do so until 2029.

The Washington Nationals are paying Max Scherzer payments totaling $15 million from 2022 to 2028. And Bret Saberhagen is on the Mets payroll to the tune of $250,000 per year in deferred payments until 2029.