Bobby Bonilla Day: The Greatest Retirement Plan in Sports History (and the Mets Are Still Paying for It)

Every July 1st, something magical happens. Something historic. Something hilariously Mets.

It’s not a holiday on the calendar, but it should be—it’s Bobby Bonilla Day, baby.

While the rest of us are checking rent payments, dodging credit card alerts, and wondering why seltzer now costs $7.99, Bobby Bonilla is somewhere relaxing while $1,193,248.20 gets direct deposited into his bank account… from the New York Mets.

Yes. In 2025. For not playing baseball.

Let me break it down in case you’ve been under a rock or are just not fluent in “Mets mismanagement history.”

⚾ Who the Hell Is Bobby Bonilla?

Glad you asked. Bobby Bonilla was an All-Star slugger in the late ’80s and ’90s. He had a solid career, big personality, even bigger paydays. The Mets signed him in 1991 to a five-year, $29 million deal—huge money at the time. Unfortunately, his play didn’t quite match the check. He butted heads with fans, the media, maybe even the hot dog vendor at Shea Stadium.

Fast forward to 1999: The Mets wanted him gone.

But they owed him $5.9 million.

Now, any normal team might’ve just paid that and called it a day. Not the Mets. Oh no. Not my Mets.

🧠 The “Brilliant” Plan

Instead of paying Bonilla the $5.9 million in 2000, the Mets said:

“Hey Bobby, what if… and hear us out… we give you nothing for a decade and then pay you $1.19 million every year from 2011 to 2035 instead?”

And Bobby, being no dummy, said: “Bet.”

Why would the Mets agree to that?

Well, their owner, Fred Wilpon, was deeply invested with a certain financial wizard named… Bernie Madoff. Yep. That Bernie Madoff. The Mets thought they’d be earning 10–12% interest on their investments every year, so delaying the Bonilla payout actually looked like a savvy financial play.

Plot twist: It was not.

💀 What This Means

So now, every July 1st—for 25 straight years—Bobby Bonilla gets paid more than:

• Most teachers will see in a decade

• The WNBA’s entire starting five combined

• Some MLB players actually on the Mets roster right now

• And let’s be honest… all of us

He gets a million-dollar check for doing absolutely nothing—no press conferences, no TV appearances, not even one ceremonial first pitch. Man could be at a Cheesecake Factory in shorts and still be getting paid more than 90% of America.

🐦 A Few Snarky Tweets That Nail It:

@MetsFanSincePain:It’s July 1st. The Mets are losing, and Bobby Bonilla is winning. Tradition.

@FinanceBroBronx:Bobby Bonilla's financial advisor deserves the Nobel Prize.

@Deadspin:Bobby Bonilla Day: The annual reminder that if you suck just right, someone will pay you forever.

@Trieth101547541:My 401(k) is just me hoping I get Bobby Bonilla’d by my job someday.

📅 When Does This End?

2035.

Let that marinate.

In 2035, we’ll be living in a world where:

• AI might run the stock market

• People may be living on Mars

• There’s a chance I’ll finally finish paying off my student loans

• And Bobby Bonilla will finally receive his last check

The man will be 72 years old.

Look, say what you want about Bobby Bonilla the player, but Bobby Bonilla the businessman? Absolute legend. He finessed a baseball franchise into the greatest retirement plan of all time.

I don’t want to hear about Roth IRAs or NFTs or whatever some guy with a podcast says about “passive income.” The real game is getting paid $1.19 million every July just for existing.

So happy Bobby Bonilla Day to all who celebrate. Pour one out for the Mets’ accounting department… and maybe one for your own financial planner while you’re at it.