Baseball industry reacts to Padres’ sale price, potential impact on labor negotiations
As information unfold Friday morning that the San Diego Padres were closing in on a sale to a bunch led by Chelsea Football co-owner José E. Feliciano and his spouse Kwanza Jones for $3.9 billion, the record-setting sum — ought to the sale be finalized and at that value — elicited quite a lot of reactions all through Major League Baseball.
“Absolutely shocked,” mentioned one crew govt of the value. “Now what does this mean for the (upcoming) CBA?”
That query was maybe probably the most urgent, as baseball’s house owners are anticipated in upcoming labor negotiations to push for a wage cap partly to improve franchise valuations which have typically lagged behind different main skilled sports activities leagues. MLB’s present Collective Bargaining Agreement expires later this 12 months.
The Padres’ price ticket seemingly goes towards the notion that MLB values are lagging. Forbes gave the Padres a $3.1 billion valuation coming into the 2026 season — a 59 % bounce from the earlier 12 months. A $3.9 billion sale value would smash the earlier document for an MLB crew, set by the New York Mets, who had been purchased by Steve Cohen for $2.42 billion in 2020. Going into the sale course of, there was an affordable expectation that the Padres would promote for north of $3 billion, maybe even $3.5 billion. But the reported take care of Feliciano and Jones blows these expectations out of the water.
Is San Diego an outlier? It relies upon on who you ask.
In one view, each franchise is exclusive. The Padres are San Diego’s solely crew within the 4 main US sports activities leagues. They profit from wonderful attendance, climate and a stadium that hosts different occasions to generate further income. They’re in California, which is residence to numerous billionaires, and the extra events, the higher the bidding conflict. Sources informed TheAthletic that every one 4 teams searching for for the crew made a closing bid, and at the very least one different group’s closing supply was within the $3.5 billion vary.
“The smaller markets are selling for twice what the large markets are,” mentioned agent Scott Boras. “An outlier? I would say the truth is (the Padres valuation) outs the lies that baseball isn’t at the most prosperous point of its existence.”
Added one other agent: “These guys opened the books, saw everything and bought this for $3.9 billion as we go to a (potential) work stoppage? These are smart, savvy business owners. They are in the process of buying undervalued assets.”
The Padres are able to profit massively from the brand new CBA, ought to the league meet its aim for a nationwide media rights deal that might pay every membership a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands yearly beginning in 2029. The Padres rank among the many smallest within the league in native media income.
“I hope they aren’t an (outlier),” mentioned one other industry govt. “I hope it’s an example of what small-market teams can do with the right ownership. For years, there’s been people saying, ‘How can they keep spending?’ or ‘It’s going to massively crash on them,’ but kudos to them. “They invested in the product and have been rewarded.”
The Atlanta Braves, the only publicly traded MLB team, saw their stock price rise 4 percent following the news of the potential Padres’ sale. Shares of the Braves are trading at an all-time high. The Tampa Bay Rays, the last MLB team to be sold, went for $1.7 billion in September 2025. The price was also more than many people projected, although it was less than the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning were bought for in October 2024 ($1.8 billion).
Not every team looking to sell has outperformed projected valuations. Last August, the Pohlad family explored a sale of the Minnesota Twins but reversed course after they couldn’t get the price they wanted. They were believed to be seeking about $1.7 billion but also carried roughly $500 million in debt, which was an issue for potential buyers at the time, as it was one of the highest debt-to-revenue ratios in the sport. (The Twins have since added new minority partnerships to erase that debt.)
In 2024, the Lerner family, owners of the Washington Nationals, also took the team off the market after they couldn’t find a buyer at their asking price of approximately $2 billion.
When those teams were pulled off the market, there was little talk that the failure to sell was an indication of the health of the league. So, some wondered, should the Padres really be a shining example?
San Diego had $300 million in debt, a manageable number that did little to determine interested parties. Teams in destination cities like Miami, Los Angeles or San Diego are always going to fetch more interest. Billionaires want to own teams in desirable areas, and there’s no telling when another Southern California team will be up for sale. Some in the sport wonder when, if ever, Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno will entertain selling the team again. (Moreno explored selling the Angels in late 2022 but then took the team off the market in 2024; it’s unclear if his decision was because of low bids or that he changed his mind.)
Regardless, the Padres’ sale will be used by the players’ union to illustrate that franchise valuations are rising even without a salary cap. Agents and players will, of course, fully embrace the notion — fair or not — that the league is doing well financially.
“These franchises are so undervalued it’s insane,” Boras said. “There isn’t any outlier in non-public fairness. They care about valuation. Would you fairly personal the Phoenix Suns or San Diego Padres when you’ve double the content material in baseball? Can you think about what this does to different valuations? The fallacy of a wage cap serving to. Does non-public fairness care about wage caps? No, they care about 162 video games and content material and about promoting stadium rights for $100-plus million.
“Baseball’s prosperity turkey is done. The barometer says it’s ready to eat.”
