Athletics and the San Diego Union-Tribune both reported that an anonymous source revealed that five groups submitted bids Wednesday in the first round of bids to purchase the San Diego Padres.
The source(s) were not authorized to comment on the sale, but it appears possible the Padres could change hands within the next month to two months.
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Athletics reported that a new group, led by Vuori CEO Joe Kudla and former San Diego Chargers quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees, was one of five to submit offers. Before today, three other groups had reportedly expressed interest in the team.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, Serie A club Roma and Premier League Everton owner Dan Friedkin and ClearLake Capital founding partner Jose E. Feliciano are the three other names reportedly interested or making offers. There is no confirmation on any of these reports.
There is no information on who the final bidder might be.
Feliciano is a native of Puerto Rico with headquarters in Santa Monica. Friedkin is a San Diego native who lives in Texas and Kudla is the owner and CEO of Carlsbad-based Vuori. He graduated from USD and started his business in 2015, according to Athletics. His company is a sports and leisure clothing brand. Brees, his partner in the bid, helps with Vuori’s marketing and resides part-time in San Diego with a long history of Padres fandom.
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Sportico valued the Padres at $2.31 billion, but reports from sources within MLB indicated the Seidler family was looking to get closer to $3 billion for the team. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred made a statement when announcing the potential sale in November 2025, saying:
“It’s a really attractive franchise. They’ve done a great job building a fan base. The San Diego stadium experience is probably one of our best. They have great players and hopefully there will be people who are interested in buying.”
Manfred updated that statement on Feb. 12 during his annual media meeting at the start of spring training.
“The best I can say about the Padres is that there is strong interest in what is considered a really attractive asset.”
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Padres president John Seidler spoke at the start of Padres spring training and said there were several interested parties, not all of which had been reported in the media, and what the owners were looking for in a new owner.
“We would like to see what everyone would like to see: We would like to see someone with ties to San Diego, a deep love of San Diego and a deep love of baseball, so that they can continue to do the work that we do in the community and provide the product on the field that the fans love.”
He also said the team would not be moved.
There have been numerous rumors that if Lacob purchased the franchise, he would look to move it from San Diego to Northern California, where he resides and owns the Warriors.
“I can’t give details on what may or may not be negotiated with an end buyer,” Seidler said. “But if you look closely, a new buyer would be crazy to move the team out of San Diego, with the second highest attendance in all of baseball last year. San Diego is a great place for baseball. Baseball is the only major sport in San Diego right now. So the opportunity is in San Diego, not anywhere else.”
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It seems likely that the Padres could have new ownership by Opening Day or very soon after. Most Padres fans are unlikely to have a strong opinion on who would be the best owner of the team, but share Seidler’s hope that their dedication to San Diego and baseball will be their motivation for owning the Padres.
