Ex-Met Bobby Bonilla Hasn’t Played Baseball In Two Decades But Gets PAID Every July 1 Thanks To The Mets Being The Mets

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Nobody on planet earth has a better July 1st every year than ex-Mets player Bobby Bonilla.

The 56-year-old collects a check from the Mets organization every July 1 for $1,193,248.20. He has been since 2011 and will through 2035.

How is this even possible? Welp, back in 2000, the Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla’s contract, but instead of paying him the $5.9 mill at the time, the Mets agreed to make annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years at 8$ interest.

In typical Mets fashion, as ESPN reports, the organization was involved with a Bernie Madoff account that promised double-digit returns from the deal, but instead the Madoff account went kapooie and the Mets were left holding the bag.

The Mets will be paying Bonilla more this season than they will pay Pete Alonsoand Jeff McNeil combined. Bonilla last played for the Mets in 1999 and last played in the majors for the Cardinals in 2001, but will be paid through 2035 (when he’ll be 72).

As an extra sweetener, Bonilla agreed to a second deferred-contract plan with the Mets and Orioles that will pay him $500,000 a year until 2029. Those payments began in 2004.

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Happy Bobby Bonilla Day, my friends.

[h/t ESPN]