Former Major League Baseball player Bobby Bonilla will receive a payment of $1,193,248.20 from the New York Mets today, as he has on each July 1 since 2011.

The annual payment is part of a deferred salary agreement arranged in 2000 and will continue through 2035.

The agreement originated when the Mets chose to buy out the remaining $5.9 million on Bonilla’s contract.

Rather than a lump-sum payout, the club negotiated a schedule of yearly payments over 25 years with 8% interest. At the time, Mets ownership was invested in a Bernard Madoff fund, which was expected to yield higher returns than the cost of the deferral.

Bonilla, who last played for the Mets in 1999 and retired from professional baseball in 2001, earns more annually from the deal than several current players on league-minimum or early-career contracts.

Among them are Pete Crow-Armstrong, Paul Skenes and James Wood, all of whom are earning less than Bonilla’s 2025 payout.

Deferred salary structures have become more prominent in recent seasons.

In 2024, Shohei Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, deferring $680 million. He is scheduled to receive $68 million annually from 2034 to 2043.

Bonilla also receives a second annual payment of $500,000 as part of a separate deferred deal involving both the Mets and the Baltimore Orioles, which began in 2004.

Under current Mets owner Steve Cohen, the club has publicly acknowledged the recurring payment. Cohen has previously expressed interest in formalising “Bobby Bonilla Day” at Citi Field.

The arrangement remains one of the most notable examples of deferred compensation in professional sport.