by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Chronovo, which is based in a suburb of Boston Massachusetts continues to promote annuities using “Bobby Bonilla Day”, a “holiday” of sorts celebrated by baseball fans, who use memes and jokes to talk about how the New York Mets pay someone who hasn’t been on the field since 2001 over a million dollars every year until 2035 when there are far better and more relevant choices to illustrate the value of deferred payment plans using other baseball players and other sports figures as examples.
Questionable use of Bobby Bonilla Day to promote structured settlement annuities
- There was no annuity purchase to fund the Mets obligation.
- The story relies on the notoriety of dead crook Bernie Madoff for relevance, but it still doesn’t work
- The dead crook would not be necessary if there was an actual annuity purchased.
- Faulur
Let’s dive a little deeper.
The Gratuitous Trivialization of a Ponzi Scheme to Promote Annuities
- Why on earth would a rerun of “Creepend at Bernies” be considered crucial for Chronovo to highlight the value of annuities, especially structured settlement annuities? Bernie Madoff’s fraud was the second largest in U.S. history!
- Surely, a value proposition that doesn’t awkwardly hitch itself to a Bernie Madoff victim would be far more fitting. For the backstory, see…Madoff Investment Scandal and how it hit former Mets Principal Owner Fred Wilpon
- Unsurprisingly but regrettably, Chronovo missed the mark in its latest Chronovo Chronicle celebrating Bobby Bonilla Day by highlighting the Madoff connection.
- At least their lack of depth perception didn’t extend to trivializing Joey Gargan—a convicted felon, ex-structured settlement broker, and “Kennedy connection”—who shared some time at FMC Butner with Bernie before the latter’s final curtain call in April 2021, and before Gargan’s compassionate release in October 2022.
Deferred payment plans for professional athletes are quite common, with numerous notable examples that do not depend on the Bernie Madoff case for relevance.
There’s nothing unusual about a team giving athletes deferred payments, but Bobby Bonilla doesn’t compare to Ken Griffey Jr. or Manny Ramirez, who both have larger annuities and significantly greater career achievements. Griffey Jr. and especially Ramirez seem like much better choices for promoting annuities for any company, especially one based in Boston.
Let’s Compare
As a die-hard Yankees fan, it feels almost sacrilegious, but here I am, singing the praises of a Red Sox legend. Why? Because when it comes to annuities, especially structured settlement annuities, it’s time to shift the spotlight from Bobby Bonilla to athletes with better careers and even juicier deferred payment deals. Sometimes, even the rivalry takes a back seat to financial storytelling!
Manny Ramirez was a Boston Red Sox and Major League baseball legend and 12 Time All Star. Manny was a complete hitter, who hit for both power and average, and recognized as one of the best right-handed hitters of his generation, Ramirez finished his career with a lifetime .312 batting average, 555 home runs (15th all-time), and 1,831 RBI (18th all-time). In 111 postseason games, Ramirez posted a .285 batting average with 29 home runs and 78 RBI in being on 2 World Series winning teams.
Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Jr. 630 HR, .284 BA, 1836 RBI, 184 SB, .538 SLG Griffey, Jr. is a Hall of Famer, a thirteen-time All-Star and one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, 7th in MLB history. Griffey won ten Gold Gloves as a center fielder and tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly and Dale Long. He’s been on the cover of the box of more than one variety of Wheaties “for goodness flakes”!
The Manny Ramirez Deferred Payment Agreement
Manny Ramirez signed a $160M contract with the Boston Red Sox in 2008, with deferred $1.968MM/year increasing at 0.25% from 2011-2026 (16 payments) Total payout $30,077,936. Here is the schedule:
2017 — $1,998,393 2018 — $2,003,389 2019 — $2,008,397 2020 — $2,013,418 2021 — $2,018,452 2022 — $2,023,498
The Ken Griffey Jr. Deferred Payment Plan
Ken Griffey, Jr. $112M contract deferred $3.59MM/year from 2009-2024. Despite being retired and not playing for the Reds since 2008, the 13 Time All Star Hall of Fame slugger Ken Griffey Jr. is the 6th highest-paid players on the Cincinnati Reds. Total Deferred Payout $57,440,000
Just to remind you in case you were wondering, the total payout to Bobby Bonilla at the end of this road in 2035 will be $29,831,205.00. Ouch!
Better Career Stats than Bonilla, Better Deferred Payment Plan than Bonilla
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.
Bonilla 287 HR .287 BA 1173 RBI 48 SB .472 SLG 6 Time All Star, One time time World Series winner (with the 1997 Florida Marlins)
Although Bonilla was a quality player, his career stats fell significantly short compared to those of Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffey Jr., his peers also associated with deferred payments.
Bobby Bonilla himself was quoted in the New York Post on July 1, 2022 as saying ““I’m probably more famous for that deal than the career I had”
But for the fact the Mets and its owner were scammed by the late crooked Bernie Madoff, there would be no Bobby Bonilla Day. Instead of “celebrating” Bonilla, perhaps Chronovo should reconsider their post given Bonilla’s deferred compensation peers as a better role model for annuities. Madoff was a crook who destroyed lives and died a miserable death.
One of the more significant and impactful parts of the July 1, 2022 New York Post article was the statement that Bonilla has never approached the Mets about receiving the funds all at once, instead opting to keep the yearly tradition going. “I’ve never even thought about it,” Bonilla said.
This statement IS something to get in front of young people of color with structured settlements who are targeted by structured settlement factoring companies when they reach 18 and throughout their 20s.
Think “Just Say No. Like Bobby Bo” and Manny Ramirez and Ken Griffrey, Jr.
Related Reading
Annuity.org breathes new life into the worn-out “Bobby Bonilla Day,” but this time, they’re giving it a twist by tying it to the Ides of March. Because why not mix financial quirks with ominous Roman history? Annuity.org Revives Tired “Bobby Bonilla Day” for the Ides of March. Why? – Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and John Darer Reviews