Bonilla spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, beginning with the White Sox in 1986 before his best seasons of his career with the Pirates between 1986-91.
During that time, he earned four of his six All-Star selections and twice finished in the top-3 in National League MVP voting. Arguably his best season came in 1990 when he slashed .280/.322/.518 with 32 home runs, 120 RBI and 112 runs.
Those strong seasons led the Mets to ink Bonilla to a five-year, $29 million contract in 1991 — then the richest contract in franchise history. Bonilla earned two All-Star selections as a member of the Mets, including 1994 when he finished with 34 home runs and 87 RBI.
Bonilla was traded to the Orioles in July 1995 and bounced between six teams, including a World Series title with the Marlins in 1997 and a trip back to the Mets in 1999, during the final six seasons of his career.
After Bonilla's return to the Mets in 1999, the team worked out a deal where they would defer the payment of $5.9 million owed to him with 8 percent interest over the course of 25 years between 2011-35.
Then-Mets owner Fred Wilpon was hoping that investments made with Bernie Madoff would help cover those costs year over year. But the team's funds were wrapped up in Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the value of that contract swelled to $29.8 million to be paid across 25 years, or $1.19 million.
Bonilla's contract is one of the most famous deferred-money contracts in baseball, but it is not the only one.
