Warriors Owner Joe Lacob Breaks Silence on Failed Padres Bid After $3.9 Billion Sale

After a long sale process, the San Diego Padres were sold to José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, for a Major League Baseball-record $3.9 billion. This number completely shattered the previous record of $2.4 billion, which was set by Steve Cohen when he purchased the New York Mets in 2020.

But the price of franchises has only gone up since 2020, and the Padres directly reflect that. Not only is baseball in a much better place in terms of popularity, but the upcoming TV contracts have also inflated the price for organizations.

Before the team was sold to Feliciano, the Padres were weighing bids from four groups. One of them was led by current Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who was involved in the process until the end.

Lacob has now opened up about falling short in his bid to land the Padres, one that he said was hinging on the fact that the 2027 MLB season may not even be played.

“We assumed likely not a season next year,” Lacob said at Sportico's Invest West conference in San Francisco. “Or at least that it was a possibility.”

The current Collective Bargainaing Agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season, and once this happens, a lockout is expected to take place. The owners are going to push for a salary cap to help curb spending around the league, while the players are very much against this idea.

So as a result, the 2027 season will either be delayed or could potentially not happen at all. Lacob, however, believes that a salary cap and a salary floor are the key to helping baseball get even better.

“It’s good for the league to have proper and appropriate competition,” he said. “It can’t be just the Warriors doing well in the NBA, it has to be all the teams. Otherwise you don’t have a great league.”

The labor negotiations are expected to be tense, but in the end, some type of agreement will be made. And this purchase of the Padres proves that the sport is in a great place right now.

While some believed that San Diego was worth closer to $3 billion, this purchase could end up being a steal for the new ownership group. Even Lacob sees the $3.9 billion investment as a smart one, despite him being the runner-up.

“Some people have said it’s an overpay; it was a lot more than us, and I think we were second. But I think in the long run it will be a good investment, because I do believe in baseball," Lacob said.

In the end, the sale of the Padres will be great for the organization, but also for baseball as a whole. If the small market of San Diego can yield this type of number, one could only imagine what a larger market could generate in a sale.

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