A Look Back at the Royals Lifetime Contracts
“Today is Bobby Bonilla Day, when the Mets issue a $1.19 million check to their former slugger, even though he hasn’t played for them in 26 years. Bonilla will receive this annual payment through 2035 because he agreed to defer the remainder of the $5.9 million owed to him in 2000 at an interest rate of 8 percent. At the time, the Mets wanted to free up money to pay other big-salaried players like Mike Hampton and Derek Bell, who helped them win the pennant that year,” reports Max Rieper in their SB Nation.
“Some criticize Bonilla for getting money for doing nothing, but the fact is that was money owed to him, and no one forced the Mets to offer him this deal. Freeing up that money did allow the Mets to make a serious run at a pennant. And it was hardly the worst deferred deal from that era. The Braves are still paying Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter – who retired in 1988, Bonilla’s third year in the league $1.12 million each year through 2022.”
