He hasn’t played in a Major League Baseball game for more than two decades, but one team is still paying Bobby Bonilla more than $1 million every year.

New York Mets Bobby Bonilla busts out of his hitting slump with this swing, to gave him a grand slam against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning, June 1, 1992 at New York’s Shea Stadium. (Photo/Associated Press)

TEGNA Digital, Melissa Hernandez De La Cruz

WASHINGTON — It’s July 1, meaning Bobby Bonilla is cashing in another $1.19 million today. 

The former New York Mets baseball player hasn’t played in a Major League Baseball game for more than two decades but the Mets are still playing him more than $1 million a year. He has received a check for the same amount every July since 2011 through 2035.

It’s all part of a deferred compensation deal that the now-retired 63-year-old Bonilla struck with the team after their 1999 season. The deal was an alternative to the team paying him a $5.9 million sum that he was still owed at the time. 

The payment was deferred for a decade but had baked in an 8% interest on the initial $5.9 million, amounting to roughly $29.8 million over the 25 years. 

“It’s bigger than my birthday,” Bonilla told Sportico in 2025 about the July 1 payment. “People know this date more than they know my birthday. I think it’s very cool. People are just happy that I put the money aside.”

When does Bobby Bonilla’s contract end?

Bonilla, who hasn’t played in a Major League Baseball game since 2001, will continue receiving these annual payments until at least 2035. That means the former MLB player will be 72-years-old when he stops getting paid by the Mets. 

The story of the deal is just as interesting as the money Bonilla is receiving.

According to CNN, disgraced financier Bernie Madoff played an indirect role in Bonilla’s long-term deal. Back in 1999, the New York Mets wanted to let Bonilla go but the team still owed him nearly $6 million dollars. 

The team’s owner, Fred Wilpon, was invested in a Bernie Madoff account and thought he’d be poised to receive a huge profit. So, Wilpon chose to defer payments so the money could be invested. Wilpon unknowingly was one of Madoff’s many Ponzi Scheme victims. Madoff died in 2021 while serving a 150-year sentence for his financial crimes.

Back in 2021, the Mets under new owner Steve Cohen decided to embrace the annual remembrance of the famously unsuccessful contract with a celebration of their own.