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It's that time of the year again when former major leaguer and ex-New York Mets star Bobby Bonilla gets up from his bed, brushes his teeth, and faces the mirror with a million-dollar smile. Actually, make that $1,193,248.20, to be precise. Known unofficially in baseball as the Bobby Bonilla Day, it started when the former slugger and the Mets agreed to have his contract bought out in 2000. But instead of Bonilla getting the entirety of that amount in one huge payday, the two sides agreed that he would get annual payments with 8% interest spread out over the next 25 years.
Since then, Bobby Bobby Bonilla's Christmas has come way earlier than the rest of the human population.
For the fun of it, let's take a look at some of the NBA players, who are earning much less this year than a sleeping Bobby Bonilla on July 1st. Why the NBA? Well, it's known to be the home of the richest professional league athletes in North America, average-wise, so a little bit of contrasting using Bonilla as the yardstick wouldn't hurt.
DeMarcus Cousins
It's not a good day for DeMarcus Cousins to talk about how he's raking in less money than a retired 58-year-old major leaguer, as he and the Los Angeles Clippers just got knocked out of the playoffs by Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals. In any case, the fact remains that Cousins, who got waived by the Houston Rockets back in February and signed by the Clippers to a rest-of-season deal in April. Here's what his Spotrac profile has on his contract situation with the Clippers:
“DeMarcus Cousins signed a 1 year / $335,366 contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, including $335,366 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $335,366. In 2020-1, Cousins will earn a base salary of $335,366, while carrying a cap hit of $233,095 and a dead cap value of $233,095.”
Andre Drummond
Here's another big guy whose NBA earnings thus far this year is merely worth a single compared to the home run Bobby Bonilla is smashing every first of July. Drummond raked in big money in 2020 when he picked up his player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers that's worth $28.75 million, but after agreeing to a buyout with the Cavs last March, he hooked up with the Lakers in hopes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis carrying him to a title parade in downtown Los Angeles at the end of the season.
But the Lakers got bounced out by the Suns in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, and now we're here talking about how Drummond's one-year $794,536 is not enough to cover for an all-in for all-in bet in heads-up poker play against our boy, Bobby Bonilla.
Drummond is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2021 NBA season, and as of the moment, it's hard to know how interested the Lakers are in bringing the rebounding machine back for a full season, but it's safe to assume that he's going to net more than just Bobby Bonilla July 1 money in his next contract, wherever that might be in the NBA.
Jeff Teague
Finally, someone who's still in the running to win an NBA title in 2021 as of Bobby Bonilla Day. Teague started the 2020-21 NBA season with the Boston Celtics but was shipped to the Orlando Magic just before the trade deadline along with a couple of future picks in exchange for scorer Evan Fournier. He would become a two-day Magic legend before the franchise waived him, later paving the way for the Bucks to add the veteran guard as a depth guy for their backcourt. Teague and the Bucks are currently battling it out with the Atlanta Hawks, with their Eastern Conference finals series tied at 2-2. Teague's earning could get a bump this year if the Bucks win it all, as there should be bonuses coming for the champions.
Here's a lowdown of his 2021 salary, per Spotrac:
“Jeff Teague signed a 1 year / $808,073 contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, including $808,073 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $808,073. In 2020-1, Teague will earn a base salary of $808,073, while carrying a cap hit of $510,589 and a dead cap value of $510,589.”
Bobby Bonilla shouldn't be defined only by his annual windfall, though. He is a six-time All-Star who played across three decades from 1986 to 2001 for eight different teams. He finished his career in 2001 with 287 home runs and a .279 batting average, with five seasons of being an above .300 hitter.
