Five ownership groups have reportedly made bids to buy the San Diego Padres.
Among the groups showing interest is Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who is part of a group led by Vuori founder and CEO Joe Kudla, The Athletic reported. Vuori is an athletic apparel brand headquartered in Carlsbad, California, 35 miles from downtown San Diego. Kudela and Brees are reportedly friends and training partners and the former quarterback, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February, often attends Padres games.
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As expected, one of the offers came from Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, a situation previously reported by The Athletic. Lacob. The 70-year-old has owned the Warriors since 2010, during which time the team has won four NBA championships and become the league’s most valuable franchise. He has previously attempted to acquire the Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Two other groups that have expressed interest in buying the Padres are reportedly led by Dan Friedkin José E. Feliciano, the news was first reported by Sportico.
Friedkin’s Pursuit Sports Group owns Premier League club Everton and Serie A side Roma. He also tried to buy the Boston Celtics last spring before Bill Chisholm and his Symphony Technology Group won the bid. Feliciano and his private equity firm Clearlake Capital own Premier League side Chelsea.
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The bid will be submitted on Wednesday, The Athletic reports. All five companies are considered “very strong” and the sale could be completed by the end of March, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The Seidler family, which currently owns the Padres, has been exploring a potential sale since November. John Seidler, the brother of late team owner Peter Seidler, now controls the Padres after gaining approval from MLB owners a year ago to take control of a family trust.
The path to a sale was cleared when Peter Seidler’s widow, Sheel Seidler, settled a lawsuit filed against her brothers-in-law, Bob Seidler and Matt Seidler. The lawsuit, filed in January 2025, accuses the brothers of “breach of fiduciary duty and fraud” as trustees of the Seidler Trust, which controls the franchise. John Seidler is not named in the lawsuit.
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Peter Seidler died in November 2023 at the age of 63 after several months of illness. He became the Padres’ chairman and largest shareholder in the group that purchased the Padres franchise in 2012.
The Seidler family is seeking a sale price close to $3 billion, according to The Athletic. Last year, Sportico valued the Padres at $2.3 billion. In 2020, Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets for $2.4 billion, the highest price ever paid for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.