Don deal: After years of waiting, the New York Mets have welcomed a crucial player.
Though it may seem unlikely, the Mets’ ridiculous 25-4 loss to end July might rank as the second-most embarrassing event to befall the struggling team this season. Which is the first? Something that will linger until 2035 in the franchise.
“I’m going to be very patient, because good things come to those who wait.” Bobby Bonilla, the man who negotiated one of the greatest contracts in baseball history, stated as much. That’s great for him, not for his old squad. The New York Mets have been the face of dubious judgments for the greater part of thirty years. avoiding becoming entangled in the Bernie Madoff controversy
The agreement
The New York Mets have repeatedly put themselves and their patient fan base through a lot, but one choice is so awful that it has gained national recognition. Bobby Bonilla Day, which is observed on July 1st every year, honors the day the New York Mets are required to pay the former outfielder $1.19 million.
For an athlete of today, that might not seem like a lot of money, but Bonilla is an athlete from the past. The man stopped playing games in 2001. The Mets’ obligation to pay Bonilla $1.19 million a year until 2035 is the most startling of all.
How did this come about? Bonilla agreed to a deferred contract with the Mets in 1999. $5.9 million that is owed
How did this come to pass? Bonilla agreed to a deferred contract with the Mets in 1999. The $5.9 million that was outstanding after a year would be paid off by 2035, with interest totaling $30 million. Why, then, would the Mets take this action? Ignorance? Perhaps, perhaps not. It is true that teams occasionally withhold money from contracts.
They choose to pay a player later so they can use it for more beneficial purposes, or at least more beneficial in their eyes, than paying them immediately. That’s it, then. After 19 years as a Mets player, Bobby Bonilla will earn little more than $1 million a year for the following 17 years.
