In 2000, the Mets wanted to rid themselves of Bonilla and his $5.9 million salary, so they agreed to a deal that would pay him that $5.9 million with an imputed interest rate of 8% over 25 annual payments each July 1st beginning in 2011 and ending in 2035.
I’ll show you the Bronx! Bobby Bonilla famously said that to a Mets beat reporter in 1992 as a way of demonstrating a toughness he had learned in city streets. Bobby clearly learned a thing or two about financial analysis in his childhood days in the Boogie Down Bron-ixxx, as well. I am writing this column just on the other side of the Whitestone Bridge (which connects The Bronx and Queens) and only a mile or so from the home field of the New York Mets, Citi Field. A little local knowledge is helpful, and it is also a reminder that today, July 1st, is Bobby Bonilla Day.
In 2000, the Mets wanted to rid themselves of Bonilla and his $5.9 million salary, so they agreed to a deal that would pay him that $5.9 million with an imputed interest rate of 8% over 25 annual payments each July 1st beginning in 2011 and ending in 2035.
From the New York Post.
The 10th annual Bobby Bonilla Day is upon us, during which the 57-year-old former outfielder — who retired from baseball in 2001 — will collect a check for $1,193,248.20 from the team he disappointed during two separate stints. The Mets owed Bonilla $5.9 million when they released him after the 1999 season, and agreed to defer the payments through 2035 — at 8 percent interest — largely because the Wilpons had been told their account with Madoff would produce annual profits of at least 10 percent.
Bonilla’s decision to accept deferred compensation from the Mets teaches us two important investing lessons:
So, Bobby Bonilla Day is an annual reminder of the infinite wisdom of the power-hitting third baseman/outfielder and the colossal stupidity of his former employers.
