Happy Bobby Bonilla Day to those who celebrate.
For the 16th straight year, the Mets are paying Bonilla $1.19 million on July 1 due to one of the most bizarre deals in sports history.
After Bonilla, now 63, hit just .160 across 60 games for the Mets in 1999, the team decided to buy out his deal in January 2000 and agreed to defer the remaining $5.9 million sum with 8 percent interest spread across 2011-2035.
Led by then-owner Fred Wilpon, the Mets were in the midst of being scammed by Bernie Madoff when the team made the deal with Bonilla.
Though the Mets thought they would be getting significant returns on their investment with Madoff, they didn’t, and therefore couldn’t pay off the buyout.
The situation has become more of a joke than anything in recent years.
In November 2020, when current owner Steve Cohen bought the Mets, he joked on X about giving Bonilla an oversized check and driving a car around Citi Field every July 1.
The following year, the Mets listed a promotion for fans to book an Airbnb stay at Citi Field under the header: “Private room hosted by Bobby.”
Even Bonilla, a Bronx native, has embraced how comedic the situation is.
“It’s kind of become like my birthday so to speak, right? It’s become that big,” Bonilla told The Post by phone in 2024. “I don’t think people know the exact date of my birthday, but they certainly know when this deferred comp comes in, so it’s pretty cool in that respect.”
Before Bonilla’s head-scratching deal with the Mets in 2000, he played 14 years between the White Sox, Pirates, Mets (for a first stint), Orioles, Marlins and Dodgers.
Bonilla first signed with the Mets for his first stint in 1991 on what was the richest contract in team sports at the time on a five-year, $29 million deal.
He was a six-time All-Star, won a World Series in 1997 and won three Silver Sluggers, but is now known primarily for his ludicrous contract.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
