You would have to be Bobby Bonilla. Just do nothing all day long, year in, year out, and regularly collect more than a million dollars for it. It’s that time again this Saturday. It’s July 1st – “Bobby Bonilla Day”. The account of the two-time Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star will be transferred from his former club New York Mets 1.193 million dollars (1.09 million euros), as every year since 2011, as every year until 2035.
On the last payday Bonilla will be 72 years old, until then he remains a curious example of how contracts are sometimes designed in US sports. The hard-hitting third baseman last played for the Mets in 1999, but they had no use for him the following year. Instead of buying Bonilla out of his contract for $5.9 million (€5.4 million today), the club decided to pay him $1.193 million plus interest at 8 percent for 25 years on July 1st.
Postponing paychecks is not uncommon, that deferred salary is intended to keep the annual burden on clubs as low as possible. Former star Ken Griffey Jr. For example, 2024 received a last of nine installments of $3.59 million (3.29 million euros) from the Cincinnati Reds, his contract running from 2000 to 2008 for 116 million dollars (106 million euros) would then be paid off. Griffey resigned in 2010.
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Bonilla, on the other hand, will continue to receive regular money after 2035. From another deferred-contract plan with the Mets, for whom he played four-and-a-half years over his 19-year career, and the Baltimore Orioles, for whom he played one-and-a-half seasons, he’s entitled to an additional $500,000 annually. Since 2004. And until 2039. Happy Bobby Bonilla Day.
