Ex-MLB star rakes in $1.19M annually despite not playing for 24 years

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He’s not Canadian and he’s not an NHL free agent, but it’s safe to say that nobody looks forward to July 1 as much as this guy.

While the first day of July marks Canada Day and signals the start of free agency for NHLers hoping to score big paydays, it is also recognized by some as ‘Bobby Bonilla Day.’

Named for the 62-year-old former MLB star, it’s safe to say there’s at least one person who has the big day circled on his calendar.

That would be Bobby Bonilla.

That’s because, every year on this day through to 2035, Bonilla collects a cheque for $1.193,248.20.

Not too shabby considering the New Yorker hasn’t laced up his cleats since 2001.

The annual cash infusion comes courtesy of what is arguably the most infamous deferred payment setup in sports history.

Bonilla signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1980s and made his MLB debut with the Chicago White Sox in 1986.

He starred for teams including the Pirates, New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins. Bonilla was also a six-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger Award three times in his career.

However, by 1999, he was on the decline in the middle of his second stint with the Mets, who ultimately decided to release him.

The stickler was that the Mets owed him $5.9 million to pay out the remainder of his contract.

That’s when Bonilla’s agent went to the Mets with an offer: They would agree to have the payment deferred for a decade with interest. Bonilla would get paid over $1.19 million per year, every July 1 from 2011 to 2035.

While it meant the payout would balloon from $5.9 million to $29.8 million, the Mets agreed to the deal, in part because Mets owner Fred Wilpon was heavily invested with Bernie Madoff in his infamous Ponzi scheme at the time.

Wilpon believed that the 10% returns he was making on his investments with Madoff would outweigh the eight per cent interest he’d be required to pay to Bonilla on the $5.9 million, so he accepted the deal.

With that, each July 1, baseball fans celebrate the payout as an informal national holiday of sorts, complete with plenty of fun takes on social media.

Bonilla isn’t the only player receiving deferred money. Most notably, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is being paid $2 million per year over the length of his 10-year contract before getting paid $68 million per year from 2034 to 2043.

Because a cheque for $1,193,248.20 each year is apparently not enough, Bonilla is also cashing in on another deferred contract. He gets paid another $500,000 from the Baltimore Orioles, having collected payment from the O’s each year since 2004 and running until 2029.

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