Bonilla, however, is more noted for the deferred contract agreement he made with the [[New York Mets]] after the 1999 season, where he was released but still owed $5.9 million: he and his agent agreed to defer payment at 8% interest, with a first payment of around $1.19 million due on July 1, 2011 and annually on that date thereafter until 2035, resulting in total payments of $29.8 million for not playing with the team. (The Mets owners agreed to the high interest rate as they were supposedly making more than that on investments; however, the investments were made with Ponzi scheme fraudster [[Bernie Madoff]].) | Bonilla, however, is more noted for the deferred contract agreement he made with the [[New York Mets]] after the 1999 season, where he was released but still owed $5.9 million: he and his agent agreed to defer payment at 8% interest, with a first payment of around $1.19 million due on July 1, 2011 and annually on that date thereafter until 2035, resulting in total payments of $29.8 million for not playing with the team. (The Mets owners agreed to the high interest rate as they were supposedly making more than that on investments; however, the investments were made with Ponzi scheme fraudster [[Bernie Madoff]].) |