Every year on July 1st, the New York Mets must send a $1.2 million check to an All-Star player named Bobby Bonilla. Today we will discuss about Bobby Bonilla: What is contract| Contract ends| Original contract
Bobby Bonilla: What is contract| Contract ends| Original contract
Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla[1] (/boʊˈniːjə/, born February 23, 1963) is an American former baseball player in Major League Baseball[1] who played in the major leagues from 1986 to 2001.
Third baseman / Right fielder | |
Born: February 23, 1963 The Bronx, New York |
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Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
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MLB debut | |
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April 9, 1986, for the Chicago White Sox | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 7, 2001, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .279 |
Hits | 2,010 |
Home runs | 287 |
Runs batted in | 1,173 |
What is contract
Bobby has a five year contract of $29 millions.
For so many people, July 1 represents the true beginning of the heart of summer. For Bobby Bonilla, this represents a massive payday.
Bonilla hasn’t played an MLB game in over 20 years. But he’s still on the payroll of the New York Mets. And July 1 is the day Bonilla receives his annual compensation from the Mets.
Bonilla’s five-year, $29 million deal with the Mets in 1991 is widely regarded as one of the worst contracts in MLB history from a team perspective. So much so that New York opted to buy out Bonilla’s contract in 2000.
Contract ends
The terms of Bonilla’s payment plan ensure that Bonilla will continue to receive more than $1.19 million each year from July 1 to 2035. He’ll be 72 by then, still rolling into the Mets’ wealth.
Bonilla had a great career, all things considered. He won three Silver Sluggers and finished second in the 1990 NL MVP voting for Pirates teammate Barry Bonds. Yet for what he achieved on the field, the Bronx native’s career has been largely defined by the money he has earned.
Original contract
Financial incompetence is the simple answer. Bonilla signed a five-year deal with New York for $29 million in 1991 and proved to be quite productive in his first three-and-a-half years in Queens, scoring 73 home runs and posting 128 OPS from 1992–1994.
The Mets traded Bonilla to the Orioles during the 1995 season, a four-year spell where Bonilla would play for four different teams.
He returned to the Mets in 1999 but was released in 2000. New York was still on the hook for $5.9 million. The Mets’ ownership, locked in an investment partnership with Bernie Madoff, considers it more financially viable to defer payment for Bonilla’s contract, spreading it over 25 years (2011–2035) with eight percent interest. .