Today Is Officially "Bobby Bonilla Day" — What Is His Net Worth in 2022?

A good sports agent can make or break a player, at least when it comes to their bank account. Scottie Pippen definitely had some feelings about that. Despite being the No. 2 player in the NBA, Scottie wasn't earning anywhere near as much as other athletes in the league, something that was expounded upon thoroughly in the documentary The Last Dance.

Scottie ultimately ended up with a much better payout once his contract with the Bulls was up, and he's been living a cushy retirement. But few athletes can match the kind of deal that Bobby Bonilla signed with the Mets that earned him a fat net worth.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bobby is currently worth $20 million, but it's hard to imagine that's all the man is worth, considering the magnitude of his massive deal with the Mets.

Fans of the sport remember that July 1 is also known as "Bobby Bonilla Day."

Every July 1, since Bobby stopped officially playing baseball in 2001 and until 2035, the man receives a whopping $1.2 million. Well, $1,193,248.20 to be exact.

That's because of an incredible deal that his sports management team was able to put together that somehow had to do with Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Yes, that Bernie Madoff.

In the year 2000, the New York Mets had agreed to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bobby's contract, but they didn't want to pony up all of the cash upfront. Instead, they agreed to hand him $1.2 million a year for 25 years, with those payments deferred up until 2011. That annual pay came with an 8 percent tacked-on interest guarantee.

Bobby, while most known for being a Met, actually ended his ball-playing days with St. Louis Cardinals and then ultimately retired in 2001. What's more is that his deal also stipulates that if he were to die, the payments would continue to benefit him or his immediate family members.

Director of advanced planning at Buckingham Wealth Partners said in an interview with CNBC that Bobby "got the greatest deal in the world. He absolutely took the Mets to the woodshed."

So why did the Mets agree to a deal that essentially hosed the heck out of them? Well, that's because the owner of the Mets at the time thought that they would get a way higher return than the 8 percent interest rate they were shelling out to Bobby thanks in part to investments they made with Bernie Madoff.

And we all know how that Ponzi scheme turned out.

Typically, deferred payments in deals favor teams, but thanks to Bobby's management team's shrewd dealings, they were able to ensure that "Bobby Bonilla Day" ended up becoming a thorn in the franchise's side and a feather in the player's cap for years to come. Bobby will be receiving that $1.2 million a year until he is 72 years old.