Mets have turned Bobby Bonilla Day into an unofficial holiday: ‘Like my birthday’

For Mets fans, July 1 wasn’t always a day of celebration.

During the Wilpon days, it served as a reminder of the peculiar state the franchise often operated in under the club’s previous owner, but after Steve Cohen took over in 2020, the day has turned into an unofficial holiday in Queens.

July 1, better known as Bobby Bonilla Day to Mets fans, has become a celebration in its own right every year when the Mets pay the former major leaguer $1,193,248.20 as part of an agreement he made with the ball club when it bought out his contract in 2000.

“It’s kind of become like my birthday so to speak, right? It’s become that big,” Bonilla, now 61, told The Post by phone. “I don’t think people know the exact date of my birthday, but they certainly know when this deferred comp comes in, so it’s pretty cool in that respect.”

For the uninitiated, Bonilla signed with the Mets on a five-year, $29 million deal in 1991, the richest contract in team sports at the time.

Bonilla didn’t live up to the high expectations put on him after he signed and he was eventually traded to the Orioles, before ending up with the Marlins where he won a World Series title in 1997 and then returned to the Mets for the 1999 season.

The Mets worked out a deal with Bonilla and his agent Dennis Gilbert following that year to buy out his contract in January 2000, with the agreement stipulating that the franchise would defer payment of the $5.9 million it owed him with 8 percent interest and spread it out from 2011-35.

Brandon Nimmo faints in hotel bathroom, cuts forehead in Mets calamity: ‘Scared and confused’

At the time ownership, led by Fred Wilpon, expected returns on investments made with Bernie Madoff, profits they had hoped to use to pay off the buyout.

Instead, the team got swept up in the Madoff Ponzi scheme fallout and the original $5.9 million had ballooned to $29.8 million, which breaks down into the annual $1.19 million payment Bonilla receives.

At first, the day had been a sore point for Mets fans as other fan bases delighted in their financial folly.

However, it has taken on a new light since the team’s current multi-billionaire owner took control of the franchise.

And Bobby Bonilla Day has become a more celebrated affair around Queens — Cohen even suggested that the team host an annual celebration where he would hand Bonilla an oversized check to commemorate the day.

Bonilla has chosen to celebrate the annual payday a little more low-key, at least for now.

The former Met said that he has been at golf tournaments the last few years with his son.

“This particular Monday I’ll actually be at home,” he said

For Mets fans hoping that Bobby Bonilla day — with all the pomp and circumstance that Cohen had suggested back in 2020 — would become a reality, they will have to be patient.

Mets vs. Nationals prediction: MLB odds, picks, best bets

Bonilla confirmed the Mets owner has “personally reached out” and there have been talks, but “nothing has materialized yet.”

“It’s not something I’m thinking about at this particular time because I have a high school student entering his senior year coming up in August,” said Bonilla, who also received $500,000 in deferred payments from the Orioles on July 1 every year.

“I won’t think about anything until he’s up and running in college and then I’ll take it from there.”

While July 1 has become a bit of an unofficial baseball holiday, Gilbert sees the day as a learning tool for younger athletes in terms of giving themselves a better financial future.

Gilbert, who now serves as commissioner of Perfect Game — a scouting service for youth baseball and softball — and had worked in the insurance industry, first started talking about deferring salary before Bonilla signed with the Mets in 1991.

Gilbert told The Post that when the idea was brought to the Mets about deferred payments they were fine with it “because they had the use of right around $1 million a year” for other players.

The money the Mets initially saved by not paying Bonilla right away helped the organization take on the contract of pitcher Mike Hampton in 2000 and the lefty helped them reach the World Series that year for the first time since 1986.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR STARTING LINEUP NEWSLETTER

“A lot of friends that were coming out of the game and a lot of stars who were retiring and coming out of the game, a few years out they … didn’t have any money,” Gilbert explained about the impetus for the deferred payment idea. “This is all about security and it’s wonderful working with youth. … To make a difference and help guild young people.”

He added: “It’s not just what they’re doing today. It’s taking out money of the bank of today and putting it in the bank of tomorrow, and if you get interest on it better yet.”

Deferred payments in MLB contracts have become commonplace, with the most notable being Shohei Ohtani deferring 97 percent of his $700 million Dodgers contract until after it expires after 2033.

Ken Griffey Jr. had been receiving $3,593,750 annually from the Reds from deferred payments that began in 2009.

“If the opportunity is there for [players] to put some money away I highly recommend it,” Bonilla said. “Not everybody is going to make a boatload of money but I like to see, whether you’re a $100 million player or you’re a $1 million player, really thinking about putting money away. I think it’s extremely important and I don’t think that gets addressed enough.”

Bonilla said that players and fans on the street still come up to him to talk about his now-famous contract and called it “exciting” to talk about it because he hopes it helps other players protect the money they’re making.

Gilbert and Bonilla still talk regularly, with Bonilla estimating they talk two times a month — which of course includes a phone call on July 1.

Sometimes those calls come after Bonilla runs into a fan wanting to talk about the deal with the Mets.

“It’s more a, ‘Man, what a smart thing to do,’ is what they say all the time,” Bonilla said. “I smile and then usually when that happens I give Dennis a call and I give him another pat on the back. Dennis was the right guy for me.”

For the latest in sports, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/sports/