Bobby Bonilla is clearly a client of Wu Tang Financial, and he heeded their advice to “protect his $*@#*%$ neck!”  We thought that Michael Finley and Allan Houston were masters of getting paid, but the folks over at No Guts, No Glory report that Bonilla pulled off the greatest heist ever (you were close, Drew Gooden):

One year from today, the Mets will add to their payroll a 47-year-old, past-his-prime power hitter who has a reputation as a malcontent—a player who has been retired from professional baseball for nine years and won’t play another game again.

Nevertheless, starting on July 1, 2011, Bobby Bonilla will remain on the franchise’s payroll for 25 years, collecting an annual salary of $1,193,248.20. Those are the terms the Mets agreed to Jan. 3, 2000, when they bought out the final year of Mr. Bonilla’s contract.

That’s right, in addition to hitting the lottery of playing pro sports, Bobby Bonilla is basically receiving lottery-type annual payouts from the Mets.  Over 1M per year for 25 years?  Somebody get Inspectah Deck on the line, now!  It’s good to see athletes making savvy financial moves, and this is probably the best I’ve come across.  On the flipside, how many mistakes could former Mets GM Steve Phillips possibly make?  Is the man even employed anywhere now?  His name pops up once a year, it seems, and it’s never for anything good.  The silver lining here?  If Tiki Barber ever weasels his way into a GM role, make sure you negotiate your contract with him.  You know what they say about birds and feathers and all.