by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Annuity.org could not wait until July 1st to revive the tired "Bobby Bonilla Day" story. So, they revived it for the Ides of March. Go figure!
Madoff died in April 2021 at FMC Butner
Business must be slow.
Annuity.org's 35-year-old research challenged staff writer Catherine Byerly, who was only 12 years old in July 1999, gossiped about Bonilla "getting into shouting matches with team manager Bobby Valentine wasn’t exactly helping team moral (sic). (There were even allegations, later denied, that Bonilla threatened to fight Valentine after a heated exchange in the dugout)", snipped Byerly.
Many other athletes, with more storied careers than Bobby Bonilla, have taken deferred payments.
Ken Griffey, Jr. $112M contract deferred $3.59MM/year from 2009-2024. Despite being retired and not playing for the Reds since 2008, Hall of Fame slugger Ken Griffey Jr. is the 6th highest-paid players on the Cincinnati Reds. Multiple Sources.
Manny Ramirez $160M contract deferred $1.968MM/year from 2011-2026
Matt Holliday $120M contract deferred $1.5MM/year from 2020-2029
Bruce Sutter $4.8MM contract deferred $1.12MM/year from 1991-2022
Source: CBS News, Chris Bengel July 1, 2021 Bobby Bonilla Day: 10 other athletes who are getting big checks from deferred payments
Performance comparisons
Griffey Jr. 630 HR, .284 BA, 1836 RBI, 184 SB, .538 SLG
Ramirez 535 HR .312 BA, 1831 RBI 38 SB, .585 SLG
Holliday 316 HR .299 BA 1220 RBI 108 SB .510 SLG
Bonilla 287 HR .287 BA 1173 RBI 48 SB .472 SLG
Bonilla career stats performed well below his peers with deferred payments.
But for the fact the Mets and others were scammed by the late crooked Bernie Madoff, there would be no Bobby Bonilla Day. Instead of "celebrating" Bonilla, consider Bonilla's deferred compensation peers as a better role model for annuities. Madoff was a crook who destroyed lives and died a miserable death at FMC Butner.
You would think that Annuity.org would have the class to not keep proliferating the Bonilla story with the title "Commonalities of Bernie Madoff, Baseball & Annuities".
According to the New York Department of Financial Services, "an annuity is a contract issued by an insurance company. An annuity is a contract between a purchaser and an insurance company in which the purchaser agrees to make a lump sum payment or series of payments in return for regular disbursements, beginning either immediately (within 12 months) or at some future date". If the deferred payments to Bonilla were simply a contract signed by Bonilla and the Mets, and the Mets were self-insuring, relying on the assumptions of investments made with Bernard L. Madoff, it doesn't fall within that definition.
Instead of celebrating "Bobby Bo", celebrate Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962, the same year as Bobby Bo), who is an American former professional baseball and NFL player. Bo Jackson is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football, having been named to the Pro Bowl (1990) and the American League MLB All-Star team (1989). Jackson's elite achievements in multiple sports have given him the reputation as one of the greatest athletes of all time. At the end of his career and before a career ending injury, Jackson earned a reporting bonus of $100,000 and an additional $416,000 in deferred payments. By failing his physical, Jackson stood to collect a reported $4 million on a disability insurance settlement.
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