Unless the article is misstating the situation...
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However, instead of paying Bonilla the $5.9 million at the time, the Mets agreed to make annual payments of nearly $1.2 million for 25 years starting July 1, 2011, including a negotiated 8% interest.
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I read that as the Mets giving Bobby B ~$30 million ($1.2m over 25 years) over a 25 year period instead of $5.9 million up front.
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At the time, Mets ownership was involved with a Bernie Madoff account that promised double-digit returns over the course of the deal, and the Mets were poised to make a significant profit -- if the Madoff account delivered. It did not.
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And the reason the Mets thought that was a great deal for them was them thinking Bernie Madoff would take that $5.9 million and give them a return of more than the $30 million by the time 2011 came around.
A yearly return of 15% would be needed to turn $5.9 million into more than $30 million, so yeah, I'd say Bobby B made the right choice. Especially considering this deal was reached in 2000, right around the time the dot com bubble burst.