The reason we dont talk about Sutters deferred payments with the Braves as much as we do about Bonillas annual July 1 payments are threefold. Moss joined Axelrod in prefering to get as much money as possible up front. When Matt Holliday re-signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010, his deal was for seven years and $120 million - with $2 million of that money deferred each season without interest. Youve got to make a judgment on how much you put at risk, he said. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Davis almost immediately cratered at the plate, hitting .168 and .179 in the last two seasons. . Unfortunately, Strawberrys tax problems meant the annuity was eventually seized by the IRS and auctioned off in 2014. We think we have worked it out by using the proceeds from the ($2.5 million) loan to purchase some of the annuity. Sutcliffes contract is structured on a radically different basis than Sutters, since there are no deferred payments. Let's look at 32 of these deals one for every year the Mets will write a post-retirement check to Bobby Bo. Boardroom is a media network that covers the business of sports, entertainment. This Month in Sports Reference Find out when we add a feature or make a change Bruce Sutter joined the team in 1985 and left in 1988, making 40 saves along the way. Bruce Sutter played for the Atlanta Braves from 1985-1988. A total of $4.8 million would be paid in salary over the six years and the other $4.8 million would be invested into a deferred payment account at 13 percent interest that would pay Sutter $1.3. Each year, his Braves "salary" of $750,000 was just an interest payment on. In the end, the Braves were the ones who offered more money about $9 million over 6 to the Cardinals $7 million over 5, per, First, Sutter was only paid about $750,000 per year while under the Braves control. The Babe was notorious for spending his money as fast as he earned it, but his business manager, Christy Walsh, stepped in with a compromise early in his career. A heavy-duty reliever who worked at least 60 games in seven different seasons, Sutter also proved capable of working multiple innings per outing. As the story goes, a key reason Mets owner Fred Wilpon agreed to Bonilla agent Dennis Gilberts proposal for deferring his clients 2000 salary at 8% annual interest was because the Wilpons were profoundly invested with Bernie Madoff, who had guaranteed at least 10% return. Not only is he a wizard with the bat, but Ichiro Suzuki also is a wizard with finances. But not only did Sutter secure his bag, he agreed to a deferred contract that instead paid him $1.12 million for thirty years, with a $9.1 million payment that was paid on . Before joining the team, he was an editor and multimedia talent for several sports and culture verticals at Minute Media and an editor, reporter, and site manager at SB Nation. Rather than get all of that $9.1 million paid out in relatively even amounts per year, Sutter insisted that his money be deferred. If Sutter wants to continue pitching after that, a new contract, perhaps containing additional annuities, will be required, and Sutter could leave the Braves and become a free agent, even while collecting on the Braves annuity. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. But that wasnt even the worst part. I happen to believe that. It might be the worst contract in baseball history, and it still has 17 years to go. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. All in all, its over $47 million for a pitcher who delivered just 40 saves for a team that averaged 96 losses per season. Bronner would not agree to make Sutter available for an interview. On July 1, the New York Mets will pay Bobby Bonilla about $1 million to not play for them. Those, too, were interest payments the Braves agreed to pay him approximately 8 percent of the deferred amount during the first six years. Sutter retired four years into his six-year deal with the Braves, but as Lewis explained, Sutter still received his money because Atlanta agreed to pay the $9.1 million in full when the contract was agreed to. When he negotiated an extension in 1993, he insisted on two things: a signing bonus of $2.5 million and then payments of $250,000 a year for 25 years. As a pretty funny, and obviously unintended side effect, Sutter ended up getting his negotiated salary in both 1989 and 1990, even though he was retired, Lewis wrote. Hes prototype. It meant a guarantee of no less than $1.12 million annually for 30 years after the contract was up. Flowers in memory of Bruce Sutter were placed above his plaque in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in Ballpark Village in St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. . All were negotiated in the last few years, so no one has yet seen the long-term effects of the big-money, deferred-payment contracts. He spent the 1984 season anchoring the bullpen of the St. Louis Cardinals, leading the league in Games Finished with 63 and amassing a then-record-tying 45 saves while pitching a now unheard of 122.2 IP. After the 1984 season, Sutter signed a six-year contract with the Braves that paid him $4.5 million and placed another $4.8 million into a deferred payment account that would pay him $1.3 million per year for 30 years after the contract expired. They started paying $2 million per year in 2011 and will continue until 2026, 18 years after they traded him to the Dodgers. Sutter will receive a $750,000 salary for each of the next six years and a minimum of $1.12 million a year for the remaining 30 years of the contract. He also cited an article by sports columnist Dave Kindred in the Atlanta Constitution as an illustration of why Sutters contract is a good business investment by the Braves. and exactly 17 years after he signed his first pro contract. . The 32-year-old Sutter was coming off of a career high 45 saves and a 1.54 ERA in 1984. He had the best makeup of any closer Ive ever seen.. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images), The late Bruce Sutter had his best years with the, St. Louis Cardinals, where he won a World Series ring. Baseball is better. He would get $4.8 million in. . The Mets paid him $37.3 million after the injury, including a buyout, but they also owed him $5 million, at 1.25 percent compound interest, seven years after each year of the deal. Though hes less famous than Pujols, Ryan Zimmerman has an even sweeter deal with Washington, a $10 million post-retirement personal services contract that pays out over five years. Because Bonilla was traded to Baltimore midway through the deal, the Orioles and Mets split the money. Sutter only played four forgettable years with the Braves before retiring after the 1988 MLB season. Sutter had his best season with the Cardinals with 45 saves in 1984 when he had a 1.54 earned run average, and after the season, he signed a $9.1 million, six-year contract with Atlanta with. Sutter, whose final payment comes in 2022, was able to turn $9.1 million into nearly $47 million thanks to interest. Where would the Braves be without Josh Donaldson. He cannot be expected to be impartial on any matter regarding the Florida Gators or Atlanta Braves. If he does agree to a trade, the amounts still owed may--but not necessarily will--be prorated to the new club. He deferred $7 million from his original deal with the Mariners and $5 million per year from his 2008-12 contract, at 5.5 percent interest, until 2020. and our 11. While he was with the Braves, he technically didn't get paid his salary at all, since the cash he was given really only amounted to the interest he was going to be owed. After missing all of the 2011 season, he threw 134 pitches in his no-no and then pitched to an 8.27 ERA in the last 10 starts of the season (and his career). Even if things had gone as planned, it wouldve been a crazy, terrible signing by the Braves. All of his 661 appearances, starting with the Chicago Cubs in 1976, came in relief. Axelrod also said that each team we dealt with would have chosen to have an annuity policy, not give it to Sutcliffe. It turned out to be a bargain, as Scherzer won two Cy Youngs and a World Series, finishing second, third and fifth, respectively, in the Cy voting in the other three years. He was the second-highest paid pitcher in the game, only behind Jos DeLen (really). We are saddened over the passing of Bruce Sutter. (Just ask the Boston Red Sox, who have repeatedly used the tactic presumably to provide some short-term breathing room against the luxury tax.). According to the agent, these are the salient features of the Sutter contract: --In addition to the $4.5 million in salary, the Braves are committed to making 30 years of annual payments after the six-year salary period has elapsed, as if they had in fact established an annuity for Sutter. . When Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history, in 2012, it also may have ended his career. (They havent.) The Silna brothers owned the St. Louis Spirits at the time of the ABA-NBA merger, when the NBA absorbed the Nets, Spurs, Pacers and Nuggets. The New York Mets are annually laughed at around July 1, when the team pays former player Bobby Bonilla $1.19 million as part of a deferred contract that runs until 2035. The Braves finished fifth with a 66-96 record, changed managers in mid-season, and got just 23 saves and a 4.48 earned run average out of the suddenly-mortal Sutter. -- What happens if the Braves go bankrupt? The press estimated that with interest the account would pay Sutter $1.3 million per year for 30 years. Uncut Gems star Kevin Garnett can afford to experiment with acting, since hes getting $5 million per year in deferred salary from the Celtics. but LOL Bonilla day pic.twitter.com/SoMmKLE4mZ. Thats their call.. That's right: it was deferred until 2022. Bobby Bonilla, eat your heart out. He didnt defer the Cy Young Award though, winning his second straight in 2019. But I would have put only about 20 to 25% of this package into annuities., Reich added: Perhaps they (Bronner and Gilhooley) couldnt have put (the deal) together on that basis. The St. Louis Cardinals, with whom Sutter spent four seasons with, confirmed his passing with a tweet Friday morning. Whether it's smart financial planning, readjustments due to bankruptcies or a sports owner falling for a Ponzi scheme, there are crazy long contracts and inexplicable deferrals in every sport. Eight years later, it was revealed that Madoff was running the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. In 1984, Sutter signed a contract with Atlanta that would pay him $4.8 million over six years and place another $4.8 million into a deferred payment account. Part of the entire package we worked out for Rick (Sutcliffe) is an annuity, or series of annuities or insurance policies, that will pay Rick a lot of money down the line, Axelrod said. This story was originally published June 26, 2018, 11:17 AM. 61 votes, 18 comments. Sutter was a closer in an era when the role was still emerging. It was widely reported that relief pitcher Bruce Sutter was to receive payments totaling $44 million over the next 36 years from his new club, the Atlanta Braves. Rather than get all of that $9.1 million paid out in relatively even amounts per year, Sutter insisted that his money be deferred. Bruce Sutter was to receive payments totaling $44 million over the next 36 years from his new club, the Atlanta Braves . Sutter was a dominant pitcher and a member of the '82 World Series Championship team. Good financial decisions led to #BobbyBonillaDay https://t.co/okI9LWMlIm. Its the financial planning equivalent of choking up on the bat. Bruce is well ahead of the game if he gets to 44 (one third the life of the agreement) and Turner is still paying. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images). The deal: rather than pay Bonilla the $5.9 million . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. He got $6.2 million in signing bonus and actual salary and then would have been paid around $32 through an annuity from 1990-2027. That is going to create for Rick an annuity that pays $900,000 a year beginning in 12 years. Certainly not Ted Turner, who signed off on an interesting contract. Although he gave Atlanta just 40 saves over three injury-riddled seasons, Sutter wound up a big winner. Beyond that, however, there are many uncertainties, and the $44 million overall figure that initially was reported, which made no mention of who would receive the principal, appears too low. But we fully expect it will work out for the full term.. There is little question that Sutter belongs with the highest paid players in baseball. For the thirty years after he retired . Both the Braves and the Cardinals agreed to the demands of the former Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer. Sutter also had a career earned run average of 2.83. How well do you predict the sport will maintain its popularity?, asked Hendricks.