Nationals pay Blue Jays' Max Scherzer millions today in Bobby Bonilla-esque contract decision

Billy Heyen

Nationals pay Blue Jays' Max Scherzer millions today in Bobby Bonilla-esque contract decision image

July 1 is viewed by baseball nerds as Bobby Bonilla Day, the day that the New York Mets pay their outfielder from the 1990s more than a million dollars because of a deferred contract agreement with interest.

For the next few years, it's also Max Scherzer day for the Washington Nationals.

Scherzer signed a big-money contract with the Nats in 2015, but they agreed to defer a bunch of the money.

So on July 1, 2025, and for 2026, 2027 and 2028, Scherzer will receive $15 million from Washington each year.

That's quite the hefty paycheck from a team he hasn't pitched for since 2021.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Bobby Bonilla Day

Scherzer is currently pitching for the Blue Jays. Before that, he was with the Mets.

His days as the Nationals' ace are long gone.

Scherzer was worth the deal for Washington, for sure. He helped lead them to a World Series title.

But now, the Nats are scuffling and they've got to ship out eight figures to Scherzer, too. A bit of insult added to injury there.

When Scherzer is done getting paid these deferrals in 2028, there'll still be seven more years of Bobby Bonilla Day to go. Baseball never disappoints.

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle