Co-owner of Premier League club to beat rival to record $3.9bn purchase of US sports team

The San Diego Padres two-year sale process could be crossing the finishing line in the coming days.

According to Jared Diamond and Miriam Gottfried of the Wall Street Journal, the Seidler family is nearing a deal to sell the Padres for $3.9 billion.

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A group led by Jose E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones are closing in on the agreement.

If the agreement goes through, it will easily surpass the $2.42 billion hedge-fund owner Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020.

The final net amount will be subject to San Diego’s $300 million in debt and other terms, but the new franchise benchmark could reverberate throughout the sport, as it stares down the barrel of a labor fight.

Padres’ new owner has ties to Chelsea FC

The Padres were officially put up for sale in November, two years after the death of Peter Seidler, who bought the team for just $800m in 2012.

Under Seidler, San Diego spent heavily on their roster, and attracted national attention to one of the MLB’s smallest media markets.

The Padres’ 2026 payroll currently stands at $208 million, ranks in the top-10 across the entire MLB according to Fangraphs, – yet it’s still $189 million less than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm based in California.

In 2022, Clearlake, and Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly led a consortium that purchased Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovic for $5.24 billion.

The Athletic also reported that Feliciano and his wife beat out three other bidders for the Padres.

The first group was led by Dan Friedkin, owner of Everton FC. The second, Tom Gores, owner of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, and finally, a group led by Joe Lacob, the owner of the Golden State Warriors.

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If the spending habits of Chelsea are anything to go by, the Padres might be able to look forward to even more money being thrown at their roster in the coming years.

What the valuation means ahead of potential 2027 lockout

The sale is likely to be finalized in the coming weeks, with Feliciano and Jones set to take over one of MLB’s rising stars.

MLB’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires on December 1, 2026, and their $3.9 billion price tag is set to be a significant talking point.

The current argument is that MLB teams require a salary cap/floor, which would prevent teams like the Dodgers, and the Mets from handing out money with little punishment.

The MLB Players Association argues that franchise values keep soaring even without a salary cap, but the owners are expected to pursue the above.

A CBA could directly impact the Dodgers, who have won back-to-back World Series and are outspending the rest of the competition.

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It could also force teams who do not spend as much as Los Angeles, like the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins to spend.

The MLB was locked out from December 2, 2021 to March 10, 2022, forcing a delay to Opening Day.

But for Padres fans, the wait is over, but the ramifications of the sale could see the the league heading towards another lockout at the end of this year. 

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