3 Contract Clauses Almost As Crazy As Bobby Bonilla's

By David Heim--

(CBS Local) Happy Bobby Bonilla Day, Mets fans!

For those of you who are unaware, former Mets outfielder Bobby Bonilla cashes in on a $1.2 million contract every July 1. We should note Bonilla hasn't played since 2001.

What?

That's right. The Mets released Bonilla back in 1999 but still owed him $5.9 million that was left on his contract. Instead of just paying Bonilla the money up front and cutting ties with him completely, the Mets did something much more logical.

For some reason, the Mets decided it was much more economically sound to defer Bonilla's payment for a decade. Because of the organization's financial issues pending from the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, the Mets held out paying Bonilla for 10 years and picked up payment in 2011 with an annual salary of $1.2 million, plus plenty of interest.

But the real kicker is that the Mets have to pay Bonilla the $1.2 million annually until 2035! That's a $29.8 million total payout -- not bad for a guy who hasn't stepped on the field in 15 years.

For transparency purposes, here are some current Mets players salaries that are less than the $1.2 million that Bonilla will make in 2015.

Matt Harvey: $614,125
Jacob deGrom: $556,875
Zack Wheeler: $546,250

The sad part is this isn't the only crazy clause found in contracts today. Some guys even get paid after retiring. So, here are some other contracts with clauses that raise eyebrows.

Chris Pronger

Pronger will make $4.9 million annually through 2017, even though he hasn't played since 2011. Then on Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Pronger's contract, which was still on the books financially for the organization, to the Arizona Coyotes while exchanging players as well. While Pronger isn't going to play for the Coyotes, his $5 million yearly payment is now their problem for the next few years.

Max Scherzer

When Scherzer signed his seven-year, $210-million contract with the Nationals in January, it raised a ton of eyebrows. But the way the payment breaks down is what really sticks out. Here is how Scherzer's contract breaks down by yearly payment.

2015: $10 million
2016: $15 million
2017: $15 million
2018: $15 million
2019: $35 million
2020: $35 million
2021: $35 million

Add all that up and you get $160 million, which is still $50 million short of the $210 million total. But where is the $50 million difference? Scherzer will get the remaining $50 million in interest through 2028, seven years after his contract expires. For those keeping score at home, that's roughly $7.1 million a year.

Scherzer will be 37 when his current contract with the Nationals runs out. Who knows if he'll be playing past his current contract. Even if Scherzer continues playing past 2021, he'll still be paid the $7.1 million from the Nationals every year through 2028.

Derek Jeter

Jeter has always been savvy on the field, but who knew he was equally as smart off of it? Jeter had an extra buyout clause included at the end of his 2011-'13 contract of $3 million. Essentially, Jeter could have opted out of the final year of his contract in 2013 and driven up his price, all while still being paid the $3 million buyout clause. Jeter also could've told the Yankees he was retiring and still get the $3 million. It was $3 million extra to either opt out and renegotiate or retire and keep it as a pension. Not bad Jeets, not bad.