Retired great gets $1.7m payout - for doing absolutely nothing

It’s officially Bobby Bonilla Day.

Every year on July 1 the retired baseball great gets a US$1,193,248.20 payout (roughly AU$1.73m) from the New York Mets in one of the most unique contract clauses in sports history.

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Even though he’s 57, hasn’t played in MLB since 2001 and hasn’t played for the Mets since 1999, the money comes in every year.

And he’ll get the cheque every July 1 until 2036 - an incredible deal the Mets signed that will see them pay him a total of $29.8 million on an original debt of $5.9 million.

How the Bobby Bonilla deal came about

The six-time All-Star played from 1986 through 2001 for eight different clubs, helping the then-Florida Marlins capture the 1997 World Series crown.

The Mets signed Bonilla to a five-year deal worth $29 million in December 1991, making him MLB's highest-paid player from 1992-1994 before they traded him to Baltimore in 1995.

Bonilla went to Florida in 1997 and after a title run was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sent him back to the Mets after the 1998 campaign.

A disappointing 1999 season prompted the Mets to release Bonilla, but they still owed him $5.9 on his contract for another season.

Bonilla and his agent offered the Mets a deal - Bonilla would delay the payment until 2011 and then take the payout annually over time with 8% interest.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon took the deal because he thought his investments with Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff would pay him 10% in returns, more than covering the Bonilla payout.

But the Madoff scheme unraveled after the 2008 MLB season, uncovering an epic fraud that bilked thousands out of more than $64 billion.

Bobby Bonilla making more than some current players

Bonilla's annual salary is more than some current MLB standouts will make this year, when players are having to take a pro-rated portion of their salary for a schedule that has been reduced to 60 games per team.

MLB plans to open the MLB season on July 23 with teams playing in home stadiums without fans due to the deadly COVID-19 outbreak.

But Bonilla isn’t alone in this unique contract situation. The list of players who also collect cheques beyond their playing years is long and full of names you may know.

Ken Griffey Jr. gets $3.5 million from the Reds every year. Bruce Sutter gets $1.12 million from the Braves every year from 1985 through 2021.

Current players such as Max Scherzer, Zack Grienke, Chris Davis and Jason Heyward all have deferred money in their contracts.

with AFP and Yahoo Sports staff