Every year on July 1, former Major League Baseball player Bobby Bonilla receives a $1.19 million dollar check as a part of his deferred contract. This tradition started in 2011 and will continue until he is well into his 70s and has affectionately become known as Bobby Bonilla Day.

While he did not sign the first deferred contract, it’s one of the most celebrated ones because it’s the epitome of “the Mets being the Mets” when they bought out the remainder of his $5.9M contract with 8% interest because they believed their investments with Bernie Madoff would generate higher returns.

What Are Deferred Contracts?

Deferred contracts are agreements where a player postpones receiving part of their salary to a future date or over a longer period of time. This often starts after their playing career ends and continues for a large part of their lifetime.

Players entertain deferred contracts because they offer financial security through guaranteed income long after retirement, help lower taxes by spreading income out across multiple years, and deferred money earns interest.

Teams offer deferred contracts because they provide payroll relief by lowering current salary obligations (often clearing the way to sign even more talent right away), gives them advantages related to the luxury tax, and spreads out large financial obligations over many years.

These have been around for decades. But most in 2023, Shohei Ohtani signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers with $680M of his $700M contract deferred to 2034–2043.

A little Fun With AI

To celebrate, I opened up ChatGPT and decided to wish it a Happy Bobby Bonilla day. Here’s how the conversation went.

ME: Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!

CHATGPT: Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! 🎉💰

July 1st—the magical day when the New York Mets pay Bobby Bonilla $1.19 million for doing absolutely nothing, thanks to one of the most legendary deferred-payment contracts in sports history.

They’ll keep cutting that check every July 1st until 2035, by which time Bonilla will be 72 years old.

An absolute masterclass in long-term financial planning. 🧠💸

ME: Can you give me a list of the top 10 deferred contracts in Major League Baseball history?

CHATGPT:

Rank	Player	Team(s) Involved	Deferred Amount / Terms	Notes
1	Bobby Bonilla	Mets	$29.8M (paid $1.19M/year from 2011–2035)	Classic: Mets deferred $5.9M owed in 2000 with 8% interest.
2	Max Scherzer	Nationals	$105M deferred (paid 2022–2028)	$210M deal; half paid over 7 years after contract ended.
3	Manny Ramírez	Red Sox	$32M deferred	Boston still paid him through 2026.
4	Chris Davis	Orioles	$42M deferred (paid through 2037)	Final $59M deal included heavy deferrals.
5	Ken Griffey Jr.	Reds	$57.5M total with $15.5M deferred (paid 2009–2024)	Still receiving checks from the Reds today.
6	Stephen Strasburg	Nationals	$80M deferred (part of $245M deal)	Like Scherzer, a big chunk paid later.
7	Todd Helton	Rockies	$13M deferred (paid 2012–2023)	Quiet but long-lasting.
8	Darryl Strawberry	Mets & Dodgers	~$2M deferred (Mets still paid him annually)	A smaller, earlier version of Bonilla’s deal.
9	Bruce Sutter	Braves	$9.1M deal, deferred at 12.3% interest (paid ~$1.3M/year from 1990–2021)	One of the earliest and most lucrative in terms of return.
10	Shohei Ohtani	Dodgers	$680M deferred out of $700M (paid 2034–2043)	Largest contract in MLB history by far in total value, and almost all of it is deferred.

ME: Which deferred contract is your favorite and why?

CHATGPT: Great question.

My favorite has to be Bruce Sutter’s deal with the Atlanta Braves—not because it was the biggest, but because it was arguably the sneakiest and smartest for its time.

⚾ Why Sutter’s Deal Stands Out:

• Signed in 1984: Before Bobby Bonilla, before luxury taxes, before mega-TV deals, the Braves offered Sutter a 6-year, $9.1M contract.
• But instead of a normal payout, Sutter agreed to take only $750K per year during those 6 years.
• The rest? $4.8M deferred with 12.3% annual interest, to be paid out at $1.3M per year from 1990 to 2021—even though he retired in 1988!

Why it’s brilliant:

He essentially became one of baseball’s earliest examples of “get rich slowly, but way more.”

That 12.3% compound interest was wild even for the ’80s.

By the time the checks stopped in 2021, Sutter had earned well over $40 million total—on what was originally a $9M deal.

I actually wasn’t aware of Sutter’s deferred deal, so I learned something new today. Bobby Bonilla Day is the gift that keeps on giving!

Featured image credit: “Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets – April 25, 2013” by Doug Kerr is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. (source)