February 20, 2026; Peoria, Arizona, USA; A general view of the San Diego Padres in the on-deck circle before a game against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at the Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Image Four potential ownership groups are expected to make second and final bids to buy the San Diego Padres within the next month, The Athletic reported Saturday.
Five groups submitted initial bids and four are still under consideration. According to The Athletic, these four representatives met with Padres officials at their spring training home in Peoria, Arizona.
Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen paid $2.4 billion to buy the New York Mets in November 2020, the highest ever sale price for a Major League Baseball team. That’s more than the $2 billion Guggenheim Baseball Management paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.
A group including the late Peter Seidler purchased the Padres for $800 million in August 2012, and the franchise is expected to demand another record sum. Seidler became the franchise’s majority shareholder in 2020, and his family is selling it.
“The Padres will probably be sold for close to $3 billion in the next few months,” CNBC sports reporter Mike Ozanian said on the CNBC Sport podcast. “This will set a new record for Major League Baseball. That’s about $600 million more than the Mets. Why? One of the reasons they’ve really built a business outside of baseball – concerts at Petco Park, all these other events – now they’re helping other teams and parks do the same thing.”
The deadline for the second round of bidding is mid-April.
According to The Athletic, the finalists include three billionaires who currently own sports franchises.
They were identified as Jose E. Feliciano, co-owner of Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League. San Diego native Dan Friedkin, who owns at least three European soccer teams; There’s also Joe Lacob, co-owner of the Golden State Warriors since 2010.
–Field level media
