I think its hard to say they “made off like bandits” when their hedge on the Bonilla deferred deal was a 17ing Bernie Madoff scheme that dried up several years before the Bonilla payments were even set to begin. But yeah, they would have made off like bandits had that train kept rolling. The other thing I found humorous is they have yet ANOTHER deferred deal with Bonilla that hasn’t even kicked in yet that they have to split with the Orioles. By the time its done they will have paid him $35 million or so when they could have gotten by with just $5.8 in 2001.
The number they actually will end up paying is 29.8M, and Madoff or not, they are making much more than that in dividends earned from investments. The Mets were able to use the money they deferred at the time to trade for Mike Hampton - which enabled them to make the world series in 2000. And then when they lost Hampton in free agency, the sandwich pick they got for him ended up being David Wright. None of that would have been possible without deferring salary for Bobby Bonilla. Yes, they made out like bandits.
And although Bonilla is the memorable one, there are dozens of former MLB players being compensated the same way.