Major League Baseball

July 1: The day Mets pay Bonilla his annual $1.2M check

Published Jul. 1, 2015 9:07 a.m. ET

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America will do plenty of celebrating on Fourth of July weekend. For Bobby Bonilla, though, the party already has started.

July 1 marks a special day for the former MLB slugger, as it’s the day he receives his annual $1.2 million check from the New York Mets.

Yes, you read that right. Bonilla retired in 2001, but he still earns more than $1 million per year.

The 52-year-old’s sweet deal came to fruition when the Mets released him after the 1999 season despite owing the remaining $5.9 million on his contract. Rather than pay him then, New York agreed to defer Bonilla’s payment 10 years and send him a check for $1,193,248.20 every year for 25 years. That means Bonilla will make almost $1.2 million annually until 2035, earning a total of $29.8 million.

Bonilla’s annual bonuses make him the ninth-highest paid player on the Mets’ current roster, out-earning stars such as Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Juan Lagares.

Not too shabby for a guy who hasn’t played baseball in 14 years.

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