Padres Sale Predicted to Shatter MLB's $2.4 Billion Record

The San Diego Padres are in the process of being sold for the first time since 2012 when the Seidler/O'Malley families and Ron Fowler purchased the club for $800 million from John Moores.

Less than 15 years later, the Padres are expected to break the MLB record for the largest sale of a team, one currently held by the New York Mets who sold to Steve Cohen for $2.4 billion in 2020.

The Padres ownership group has reportedly received their first round of bids, with five groups submitting offers to purchase the team. Among the known interested buyers are Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob and two owners of English Premier League clubs, Dan Friedkin and José E. Feliciano.

Additionally, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees as well as Vuori founder Joe Kudla are interested in joining a group.

While the sale is expected to be completed in the coming months, exactly how much the team will sell for is currently unknown. According to Mike Ozanian, a senior sports reporter for CNBC and lead reporter for their business of sports vertical, the impending sale is going to shatter the MLB record.

"The Padres, they're going to probably sell in the next couple months for close to $3 billion," Ozanian said on the CNBC Sport podcast. That's going to set a new record for Major League Baseball by far, about $600 million more than the Mets. Why? One of the reasons why is they've really built up their non-baseball business. Concerts, all these other events that they have at Petco Park. Now they're helping other teams and parks do the same thing."

The Padres have gone from a small market team with little success to one of the most aggressive and successful teams over the last decade.

Late owner Peter Seidler didn't spare any expenses in his quest to bring a World Series to San Diego. Since 2020, the Padres have had an Opening Day payroll inside the top 15 of MLB every year, including five times in the top 10 and three times in the top six.

In that same stretch, the Padres have made the postseason four times, including a National League Championship Series appearance after taking down the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.

Additionally, the Padres have ranked in the top five in attendance every season since 2021, including a second-place ranking in 2025, only trailing the Dodgers. For reference, in 2019, the Padres ranked 14th in attendance. In 2012, they ranked 21st.

In the last decade, the Padres have asserted themselves as one of the premier franchises in MLB, despite being in one of the smallest markets. The Seidler family will reap the rewards of that when they sell the franchise for an MLB-record valuation at some point this year.

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