It's the first day of July, which means today is the day that MLB teams who defer payments across multiple years have to shell out the cash. Or, if we're being more playful about it, Happy Bobby Bonilla Day.
"Bobby Bonilla Day" is the nickname baseball fans have given July 1, the day that Bobby Bonilla receives an annual payment of $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets under one of the most famous deferred-contract agreements in sports history. When the Mets released Bonilla after the 1999 season, they still owed him $5.9 million.
Rather than paying the amount immediately, the two sides agreed to defer the money, with interest, resulting in annual payments every July 1 from 2011 through 2035. The deal will ultimately pay Bonilla nearly $30 million, and the annual payday has become an unofficial baseball holiday.
Fans have been celebrating all day:
"Greatest Deal Ever It's Keeps on Giving and Giving," one user declared on X.
"I get a kick out of this post every year. Freaking legend," wrote another.
"Do you think the Mets will offer an extension?" a third joked.
"He is also getting $500,000 a year from an earlier defer agreement he made with the Orioles … So he gets money until he is 72 years old."
"I long for the day when this would be the most egregious example of the Mets wasting money."
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Bobby Bonilla's Day
While many younger fans know him primarily because of the contract, Bonilla was one of baseball's best players during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over a 16-year MLB career, he was a six-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and a member of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins. He played for eight franchises, including standout years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and finished his career with a .279 batting average, 287 home runs, 1,173 RBIs, 2,010 hits, and an .830 OPS.
Although "Bobby Bonilla Day" has become synonymous with his financial legacy, Bonilla was an outstanding switch-hitter whose accomplishments on the field made him one of the premier players of his era.
