Bobby Bonilla’s Famous Deferred Contract Deal With Mets Is Selling At Auction For $180,000

Bobby Bonilla’s infamous deferred salary deal with the New York Mets is paying off in more ways than one. The Deferred Salary Agreement, an addendum to Bonilla’s original contract with the Mets, sold at auction Saturday night for $180,000. Bidding increased by more than $150,000 in the closing hours of the auction.

Since signing the contract has been in the possession of Dennis Gilbert, the mediator who brokered the deferred wage arrangement. Per Goldin Auctions, in addition to the contract addendum itself, the winner of the auction also receives:

• A 30 minute Zoom meeting with Bonilla and Gilbert.
• An autographed baseball, a bat used by the game from Bonilla’s personal collection, and an exclusive NFT of the contract.
• A day with Bonilla in New York, including breakfast, a trip to Citi Field for a batting practice and a game, and dinner.

Since 2011, the Mets paid Bonilla an annual deferred salary payment of $1,193,248.20 on July 1., and will continue to do so through 2035. The payments come from Bonilla’s $5.9 million salary in 2000. The Mets released him in January, and because the property believed they would make a significant profit from their investments with Bernie Madoff, they agreed to defer Bonilla’s salary. salary with 8 percent interest and spread over 25 years from 2011-35. The $5.9 million grew to $29.8 million.

July 1 has come to be known as Bobby Bonilla Day, and while the Mets have often been mocked for the deferred salary deal, new owner Steve Cohen has embraced it. He even suggested inviting Bonilla to Citi Field every year and handing him a large novelty check.

Bonilla is not the only former big leaguer to receive deferred salary. In fact, Mets co-ace Max Scherzer will receive $15 million in deferred salary each July 1 from 2022-28, as a result of his previous contract with the Washington Nationals.