The Padres have found their new owner.
On Friday, news broke that the Seidler family was on the verge of selling the franchise to private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, for a valuation of $3.9 billion. That amount shatters the previous MLB record set when Steve Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020.
Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, who acquired Chelsea FC in May 2022 for more than £4.25 billion. The results on the field have been mixed at best for the club since the acquisition. How he leads his new team will bear watching.
Under the watch of late owner Peter Seidler, the Padres have become one of MLB’s most competitive teams. San Diego has reached the postseason in four of the last six years and have been in the top five in attendance in each of the past five seasons. During the 2025 campaign, Petco Park was sold out for 72 of the team’s 81 home games.
Seidler was part of the O’Mally group that purchased the Padres from John Moores in 2012 for $800 million. The club is now worth almost five times that.
Feliciano was among four principals bidding on the team. Warriors owner Joe Lacob showed early interest and was a finalist, while Pistons owner Tom Gores, and Everton owner Dan Friedkin also were involved in the final bidding.
The Padres have an exciting core built around stars Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, and backed by names like Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill and Mason Miller.
This sale is breaking a record but may not reset the market for MLB franchises. The Padres have a unique set of circumstances that likely elevated the price. San Diego is the eighth biggest city in the United States, and has an affluent population with money to burn. A dedicated fanbase has packed Petco Park for years, driving up in-park revenue.
That said, the city’s media market ranks only 30th due to geographic constraints. The Pacific Ocean to the west, an international border to the south, Orange County to the north and a largely empty desert to the east restrict the reach of the television market. While that has long been an issue for franchises in the city, it may not impact the Padres much in the future. MLB's new collective bargaining agreement is expected to pool all television revenue and distribute it evenly among the league's teams. That would be a gigantic boost to the franchise's finances.
There is a long way to go, but a change like that would end the only aspect depressing the team’s value.
Padres early season success
With the prospect of a sale looming, the Padres have become the hottest team in baseball. They enter Friday’s action 13-6 and are riding an MLB season-best eight game winning streak, and have won 11 of their last 12 games.
The eight wins in a row featured three of the walk-off variety, including a walk-off grad slam by Bogaerts, a walk-off three-run home run by Gavin Sheets, and a five-run ninth inning against the Mariners that completed a comeback from down 6-0.
Meanwhile, star closer Mason Miller continues his history-making run of scorless, high-strikeout performances.
The team is at its peak, so this news comes at a time of high spirits. The city is buzzing for the Padres right now, and waits to hear from the new owner who will be leading them forward.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Padres Sell to Chelsea Owner José E. Feliciano for MLB-Record $3.9 Billion.
