It's July 1 and time for the Mets to give Bobby his annual $1.19 million check as part of his 2003 contract. Only 18 more annual payments and the Mets are done.
OT: Bobby Bonilla Day
- Thread starter knightfan7
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Here's an interesting read about it.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...y-bonilla-119-million-today-every-july-1-2035
However, I'd say the sweetheart deal in the history of sports was this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/s...-and-daniel-silna-earn-millions-from-nba.html
It only got settled recently:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2014/...tuity-deal-with-former-owners-of-aba-spirits/
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...y-bonilla-119-million-today-every-july-1-2035
However, I'd say the sweetheart deal in the history of sports was this one:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/s...-and-daniel-silna-earn-millions-from-nba.html
It only got settled recently:
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2014/...tuity-deal-with-former-owners-of-aba-spirits/
They should bring him back: he might be better than what's there now.
Recently saw this article about Bruce Sutter's deal, which may have been worse than Bonilla's: https://theathletic.com/399252/2018...-for-30-years-thanks-to-a-ludicrous-contract/
The article is behind a paywall, so here's some of the meat of the deal:
Side note, if you don't have a subscription to the Athletic, IMO, it's worth it. I'm not sure how the articles about NY area teams are, but they had by far the best coverage of the Philly area teams of any media outlet this past year.
The article is behind a paywall, so here's some of the meat of the deal:
Side note, if you don't have a subscription to the Athletic, IMO, it's worth it. I'm not sure how the articles about NY area teams are, but they had by far the best coverage of the Philly area teams of any media outlet this past year.
I wonder if the Madoff issue had forced the Mets and the Wilpons to file for bankruptcy would the Mets still have been on the hook for all those payments or would that deal have been wiped out.
While everyone likes to poke fun at the Bobby Bo contract, the deferral is/was @ 8% interest which given the interest rates at the time (mortgage rates were just a tick under 8%) was not that crazy, particularly when you are getting Madoff returns! Locking in that interest rate for 35 years is pretty stupid by the Mets, but far from the greatest agent moves of all time.
Whoever got Jay Cutler $128M was a genius!
Boras getting $317M out of the Yankees for A-Rod.
How about the NBA paying a total of $800M from 1976 to 2014 to the Silna brothers for dissolving the Spirit of St Louis ABA team!
Heck, whoever got $2M out of the Mets for Jose Reyes this year is a superstar.
hearing all the "broke" horror stories from pro athletes over the years... - Dan Gilbert's use of annuity-type payments for his clients was/is impressive....
how this is related to the Madoff scam is also a strange thing........
how this is related to the Madoff scam is also a strange thing........
Must be nice to wake up to a $1.1M annuity direct deposit into your bank account every 7/1 until 2035 courtesy of an inept Mets FO.
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anon_ivydyf0amkzay
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My guess is that the sale of the team would have generated more than enough liquidity to pay all liabilities. The bankruptcy court would probably have ordered a one-time present value payout.
Player contracts are guaranteed by the league I believe as well as the team. Also The Mets wouldn’t have been insolvent if the Wilpons went bankrupt. They are sepeeate entities. The Mets pay Bonilla. Not the Wilpons.
After his subpar 1999 season, the Mets released Bonilla, but still owed him $5.9 million. Bonilla and his agent offered the Mets a deal: Bonilla would defer payment for a decade, and the Mets would pay him an annual paycheck of $1.19 million starting in 2011 and ending in 2035, adding up to a total payout of $29.8 million. Mets owner Fred Wilpon accepted the deal mostly because he was heavily invested with Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff, and the 10 percent returns he thought he was getting on his investments with Madoff outweighed the eight percent interest the Mets would be paying on Bonilla's initial $5.9 million. As a result, the payout was a subject of inquiry during the Madoff investment scandal investigation when it came to light in 2008.
There are lots of other guys getting similar checks today. Bobby Bo is getting unfairly singled out. I blame BSPN
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anon_ivydyf0amkzay
Guest
If I were Bobby Bo I’d be loving the singling out...because in the end HE won...cha ching!
Dumbest deal ever negotiated by an organization and highlights the incompetence of the NY Mets organization. Bobby Bo's agent was negotiating against a bunch of mental midgets.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bobby-bonilla-contract-day-125428712.html
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bobby-bonilla-contract-day-125428712.html
That's even worse to me. A guy who played 1 inning -- sometimes. But my "closer" rant is for another thread...
That's generous of you....he really only participates for a half inning. And in the NL, he'll almost never see an at-bat in other half of the full inning.
I read that Bruce Sutter has a similar type arrangement with the Braves. Finally runs out in 2 or 3 years
He gets his annual $1.19 million today. Only 15 years to go.
July 1 is the date that Bobby Bonilla gets his annual check from the Mets.
This year's total is $1,193,248.20
Payments will continue until 2035.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/01/happy...ans-time-for-mets-to-pay-off-brutal-contract/
This year's total is $1,193,248.20
Payments will continue until 2035.
https://nypost.com/2020/07/01/happy...ans-time-for-mets-to-pay-off-brutal-contract/
Best baseball move the Wilpons ever made. With the savings they accrued from the contractual deferral in 2000, they were able to acquire Mike Hampton on a one year rental. Hampton helped get them to the WS that year. Then when Hampton left for free agency, the Mets used the compensatory draft pick to select David Wright.
Don't have the link right now.. but some ABA owners got the best deal ever from the NBA.
Here it is...
The deal with Bonilla, a stupid one from the start, was the result of re-acquiring Bonilla in a trade for Mel Rojas. Basically the Mets and Dodgers traded malcontent players with bad contracts. But I bet the Dodgers are not still paying Rojas.
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