Bobby Bonilla day: Retired baseball star receives his annual million-dollar payment

Bobby Bonilla. Photo / Getty

Chances are you've never heard of Bobby Bonilla and that's perfectly fine — but one thing you should know is he holds one of the greatest contracts any person could ever dream of.

Bonilla played Major League Baseball for 16 years, in which time he won a World Series and was named an All-Star on six occasions.

In a three-year span from 1992 to 1994 Bonilla was the highest paid player in the league, but it's since his career finished the riches have flooded in.

After the 1999 season and still with one year remaining on his deal, the New York Mets released Bonilla. With US$5.8 million (NZ$8.9 million) still left on his contract Bonilla and his agent, Dennis Gilbert, arranged a deal with the Mets.

Gilbert was an insurance agent around the time the deal was constructed which helped him fleece the organisation for his client. The deal would see Bonilla defer payment for a decade and then see the Mets pay him NZ$1.85 million per year, for 25 years.

Yes, you read that right — $1.85 million a year for 25 years.

Instead of keeping him on their roster and paying him $8.6 million for one season, the deal will see Bonilla being paid annually until 2035 — at which time he would have earned more than NZ$40 million.

The deal was agreed to and Bonilla began receiving payments in 2011 on July 1.

Despite not having played professional baseball since his retirement in 2001, Bonilla has earned NZ$14 million from the Mets.

July 1 in America is Bonilla Day. Photo / YouTube

Bonilla, now aged 56, gets to sit back and wait until July 1 every single year for his bank account to receive a hefty boost. The real kicker on top of this for Bonilla is the $1.85 million annual payment isn't the only deferred deal he's receiving.

According to his agent Gilbert, he's currently also receiving payments from an earlier deal with the Mets. Part of his first deal with the organisation was to defer yearly payments of NZ$740,000 per year from 2004 through to 2023.

So that means Bonilla between 2011 and 2023 is earning NZ$2.55 million per year, just for being a former player. And for having an incredible agent.

With ten payments now officially down, the Mets only have 17 to go before they can stop being the butt of jokes.