The Padres are poised to be sold at a record-breaking valuation of roughly $3.9 billion.
The San Diego MLB club is nearing a deal to be sold to José E. Feliciano, the cofounder of private investment firm Clearlake Capital, and his wife, Kwanza Jones, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Front Office Sports. Feliciano is also co-owner of the Premier League’s Chelsea.
The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said a deal could be announced early next week. Representatives for MLB and the Padres declined to comment.
If the deal goes through, it would mark the highest valuation for an MLB franchise, breaking the record previously set when Steve Cohen bought the Mets in 2020 in a $2.4 billion deal.
Feliciano beat out a group of bidders that reportedly included Warriors owner Joe Lacob and Dan Friedkin, who is principal owner of Serie A’s Roma and the Premier League team Everton. A group featuring former NFL quarterback Drew Brees and Vuori CEO Joe Kudla also reportedly showed interest.
The record sale price reflects a basic economic principle—supply and demand—according to Michael Sustarsic of wealth management firm Wealthspire.
“You only have so many teams, so there is very limited supply,” Sustarsic tells FOS. “With a ton of appetite and demand, that’s naturally going to drive up the valuation.”
The $3.9 billion figure would shatter the value of the most recent team sold, the Rays, which last year went for $1.7 billion. Before that, the Orioles were sold to private-equity executive and Baltimore native David Rubenstein at a $1.725 billion valuation.
The Padres were put up for sale in November, while a lawsuit involving members of the family who owns the team was playing out in court. In January of last year, Sheel Seidler, the widow of former Padres chairman Peter Seidler, sued her brothers-in-law, Bob and Matt Seidler, who run the team. The petition in Texas state court alleged fraud, gross negligence, and racism against Sheel, but in February most of the claims were resolved.
The deal comes as the Padres are off to a hot start this season following a busy offseason in which they reached a multiyear contract extension with GM A.J. Preller, and added outfielder Nick Castellanos, as well as pitchers Germán Márquez and Griffin Canning. At 13–6, San Diego sits in second place in the NL West division.
The Padres have finished second in the NL West division to the Dodgers four times in the last six seasons, and they have lost to Los Angeles three times in the playoffs since 2020. San Diego also finished second in attendance last season to the Dodgers, posting a club-record draw of 3.4 million at Petco Park.
The Padres have a $259.6 million luxury-tax payroll for 2026, sixth highest in MLB, and are paying out the Nos. 7, 9, and 18 contracts in the league to third baseman Manny Machado, outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., and shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
