Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla (born February 23, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman and outfielder who played from 1986 to 2001. Bonilla was a powerful batter and top player in the Major Leagues in the late 1980s and early 1990s and a member of the very successful and pennant-contending Pittsburgh Pirates organisation. During his time with the Pirates, Bonilla had remarkable statistics in home runs, RBIs, doubles, extra-base hits, Wins Above Replacement averages, four All-Star selections, three Silver Slugger Awards, and was a top candidate for the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.
Bobby Bonilla’s net worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bobby is currently worth $20 million, but given the magnitude of his contract with the Mets, it isn’t easy to believe that’s all the man is worth. Sports fans will recall that July 1 is “Bobby Bonilla Day.” While best remembered as a Met, Bobby finished his playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring in 2001.
Furthermore, his agreement states that the payments will continue to benefit him or his close family members if he dies. Bobby “got the best bargain in the world,” according to Buckingham Wealth Partners’ director of advanced planning in an interview with CNBC.
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Bobby’s playing career
Bonilla graduated from Herbert H. Lehman High School in the Bronx in 1981. He was not taken in the 1981 Major League Baseball draught and spent a semester studying computer science at the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him after scout Syd Thrift noticed him at a European baseball camp.
During spring training in 1985, he fractured his right leg in a collision with teammate Bip Roberts, ending his climb through the Pirates’ minor system. During the 1985-86 summer, the Chicago White Sox selected Bonilla in the Rule 5 draught, and he made his main league debut with the White Sox at the start of the 1986 season.
After that year, Thrift, the Pirates’ general manager, re-signed Bonilla in exchange for pitcher José DeLeón. Bonilla also played for the Mayagüez Indians of the Puerto Rican Winter League from 1984 to 1988.
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Why is he still getting paid?
Bobby has received a stunning $1.2 million every July 1 since he retired from baseball in 2001 and will continue to do so until 2035. To be accurate, $1,193,248.20. That’s because his sports management staff was able to pull together an extraordinary deal involving Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Bernie Madoff, of course.
The New York Mets agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bobby’s contract in 2000, but they didn’t want to pay the entire amount upfront. Instead, they decided to pay him $1.2 million yearly for the next 25 years, deferring payments until 2011. That annual salary came with an 8 per cent interest guarantee.
His return to the Mets
The Mets acquired Bonilla from the Dodgers in November 1998 in exchange for Mel Rojas. Again, his performance fell short of expectations, and he frequently clashed with manager Bobby Valentine about a lack of playing time. His time in New York ended with an incident during the sixth game of the 1999 NLCS, in which the Mets were defeated in 11 innings by the Braves while Bonilla sat in the clubhouse playing cards with colleague Rickey Henderson.
