Padres Sale Finalized for Record $3.9 Billion
- Jerry Crasnick
- May 5
- 1 min read
The San Diego Padres announced Saturday that the Seidler Family has reached agreement to transfer control of the franchise to a new ownership group led by private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano and his wife, artist, investor and entrepreneur Kwanza Jones.
The $3.9 billion sale price is a record for a major-league franchise, easily surpassing the $2.4 billion that hedge fund manager Steve Cohen paid to acquire the New York Mets in 2020. It also marks a nearly five-fold increase from the $800 million that a Ron Fowler-led group spent to acquire the Padres from John Moores in 2012.
The sale price reflects a consistent commitment to winning by the Padres, who ranked among the top 10 in MLB payrolls in 2025 and were sixth this year with a reported Opening Day payroll of $262 million. The team's fans have responded in a big way; San Diego had the second highest major league attendance with 3.4 million fans in 2025 and ranks second to the Dodgers this year with an average attendance of almost 42,000 fans per game.
