The legal battle which has been hovering over the Padres for the past year-plus moved a bit closer to resolution this week. While it’s not over the finish line, it appears the club took one step toward closer to potentially being sold. Various details were provided by Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Eben Novy-Williams, Kurt Badenhausen and Scott Soshnick of Sportico, as well as Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Interested readers are encouraged to read those pieces in full to get all of the pertinent details. The key takeaway is that Sheel Seider, widow of Peter Seider, has dropped many of the claims in her lawsuit against Peter’s brothers. The two sides of the lawsuit have reached agreement on many of the claims, with the exceptions of those related to trust distributions and demand for accounting.
After Peter died in November of 2023, his stake in the team was placed in a trust. Eric Kutsenda, a business associate of Peter’s, was made the club’s control person on an interim basis. Teams are often owned by many people but MLB designates one individual the control person to represent the team in league matters. Peter’s brother John Seidler was reportedly set to be named control person in December of 2024. Two of Peter’s other brothers, Matt and Bob, remained involved in his trust.
In January of 2025, Sheel filed suit against Matt and Bob, seeking to be named control person of the franchise. The suit claimed that Peter wanted control of the franchise to eventually pass to his young children, with her steering the franchise in the interim. The suit accused Peter’s brothers of various types of malfeasance to take control of the club, including selling themselves assets at below-market prices, and to eventually sell it. Matt then filed a response with a counter narrative, saying that Peter never listed Sheel as a trustee despite amending his trust multiple times and that many transactions had been made to her benefit.
MLB approved John as control person on February of 2025. In November of 2025, the Padres announced that they would be exploring a sale of the club, despite no signs of progress with the dispute. As mentioned, this week’s news seems to represent progress, but with some hurdles remaining.
Acee reports it’s likely that a sale will not take place until full resolution of the legal matters. That’s a situation with some recent precedent in Major League Baseball. After the death of Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos, his surviving family members engaged in a similar fight for control, also involving lawsuits. Those suits were dropped in February of 2023. Later that year, it was reported that David Rubenstein was in talks to buy the club, which he eventually did.
Sportico identifies Jose E. Feliciano and Dan Friedkin as two people interested in buying the club. Feliciano’s investment firm Clearlake Capital was part of the BlueCo consortium which bought the English Premier League club Chelsea in 2022 for roughly $3 billion in USD. Forbes estimates Feliciano’s net worth to be $3.9 billion. Clearlake reportedly has about $90 billion under management. Mark Walter, Dodgers’ control person and chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, was also part of BlueCo.
Friedkin also owns a Premier League club, having purchased Everton in 2024 for an undisclosed price. He also owns the Serie A club Roma. Forbes estimates his net worth to be just under $9.9 billion. He was born in San Diego in 1965.
Joe Lacob is also identified as someone with interest by all three articles linked above. Lacob has been connected to various MLB clubs in the past, including the Athletics and the Angels. He owns the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. Forbes estimate his net worth to be $2.3 billion.
Forbes calculates the value of the franchise at $1.95 billion. Sportico comes in a bit higher at $2.3 billion. This week’s reporting suggests the Padres are likely to seek far more than that, with Acee reporting the team likely values itself in the $2.5 to $3 billion range. If they can get anywhere close to that, it would be a record. The largest sale of an MLB club to date is the $2.4 billion Steve Cohen paid to buy the Mets.
It’s possible that a sale could provide some greater certainty about the future of the club in a few areas. The player payroll peaked in 2023, with Cot’s Baseball Contracts putting the Friars at $249MM that year, but has been at a lower tier since then.
That has seemingly played a role in some transactions. Juan Soto’s final year of club control was traded to the Yankees, with younger and cheaper players coming back in return. The Friars signed Nick Pivetta last year but backloaded it significantly, with Pivetta only getting $4MM in the first year of a four-year, $44MM deal. With the cheapest year now completed, he has been in trade rumors this winter.
The person making the decisions about those transactions is president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, who has been running the San Diego front office since 2014. There has been some reported tension between him and the new guys running the team. Despite the club being fairly successful on the field, Preller is going into the final year of his contract and rumors of extension talks haven’t led to a new deal, putting him in lame duck status for 2026.
Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images
“While it’s not over the finish line, it appears the club took one step toward closer and potentially being sold.”
Hire a new editor!
Go apply for the job, then.
Too hard for you to work it out ?
I’m still trying to figure out who shot JR. Now this
A sale is imminent…but to who?
Sale isn’t imminent. The lawsuit has to be settled in full before a sale can happen and as Sheel Seidler’s attorneys have been quoted as saying in several of the articles, the items regarding fraud by the Seidler brothers have not been dismissed.
I stand by my comment, Web…there is no going back…right or wrong! Hahahaha
Joe Lacob or Stan Kroenke would be my guess.
Jose Feliciano. Singer of world renowned earworms Guantanamera and Feliz Navidad.
Also famous for his controversial (at the time) rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series between the Tigers and Cards. I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face when he said “what the hell was that” after watching Feliciano’s slow tempo, bluesy rendition. Eleven year old me thought my father’s dismay was amusing—–until he saw the grin on my face. Uncomfortable viewing in our living room for the first couple of innings……………………
Because it’s TV market is very limited — hemmed on by Mexico to the south and the pacific to the west, there is a good chance the next owners will move the franchise to location with more media potential.
Do you see groups in Portland, Nashville or Raleigh stepping up to write the big check to bring baseball to their region?
Nope. Bye Felicia.
@ctbronx7 thanks for the laugh. I needed a good chuckle today and you provided it with a stream of nonsensical drivel. I appreciate it, I never laughed so hard in a while.
In all fairness, the viewership of the Pacific Ocean has never “wavered.”
You’re on fire!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
The Padres are locked into Petco for 8 more seasons. Considering how attendance and revenue has grown, its doubtful they would move.
With a new ownership group ready to spent 2-3 billion to purchase the franchise, writing a check for 50-80 million to pay off the PETCO lease is pocket change.
No more franchises will be relocating. New locations will be earmarked for expansion. San Diego and Padres are synomymous and you don’t destroy a brand with a loyal fanbase as recent ballpark attendance has shown.
I don’t think you understand how it works. That is lost revenue for the city and that is represented in the lease. This is California so that lease is public record. You can go read it yourself. It would be a couple hundred million to break the lease.
Also, the Padres are the only game in town, and it shows in 3 straight seasons of sold-out games and season tickets already sold out for a 4th straight season. Billionaires got there for a reason. They are not stupid enough to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Revenue earnings were announced today at $600M, so they should get at least $3B in sale of team
Season tickets are sold out. They are doing well.
Are you saying Mexicans don’t like baseball?
No. But — and this is why baseball won’t return to Montreal — US advertising and TV/radio rights do not include Mexico. Mexican viewers and listeners can’t be monetized.
Car makers, brewers, snack food companies et al want to maximize the clout of their advertising.
The geographic area really doesn’t matter. SD is the #30 TV market in the country despite being small geographically.
Las Vegas, for instance, is #40 and really won’t have any additional TV territory of note either. The rest of Nevada has like nobody living there.
Do you really see Portland, Nashville or Raleigh attracting the same super-regional fanbase — from scratch — that the NY teams, Boston, Cubs, Braves have?
Not to mention, I think MLB will do whatever it can to discourage franchise relocation after the A’s. First and foremost, it’s ugly. Secondly, it’s clear the league wants expansion rather than rearranging deck chairs.
Padres have the smallest media market in MLB, but the overall market is not small. 2nd in attendance is special
Padres don’t have the smallest media market rank at least as far as TV market size is concerned. KC (#33), Cincinnati (#37), Milwaukee (#38) and soon Vegas (#40) all rank lower than SD (#30).
That said, second in attendance is indeed special and the team won’t move. What I’m saying is in support of them *not* moving and refuting the idea that its market is too small.
@chrisrg Did you mean to say, “SD is (only) the #30 market in the country despite its large population”? San Diego is the 8th largest city in the US; the 18th largest metro area. As I’m certain you know, the geography matters because of ocean to the west, LA/OC to the north, mountains east & Mexico – not factored into market size – to the south. It reads to me that your view is that it’s a larger market than the geography suggests. Mine is that it’s a surprisingly small market, as it relates to media & sports franchises, for such a large population. Regardless, we’re still at #30. But, no, I don’t think Charlotte, Portland, Nashville or SLC would generate the eyes, ears & asses in seats to significantly increase a team’s revenue. And there’s the issue/expense of building a ballpark in those markets that’s more appealing than PETCO Park.
It’s Nielsen TV market rankings. The Nielsen media market for SD is just San Diego County. So unlike, say, the Tampa media market (#11) that is technically a lot bigger by virtue of sucking in other mid-sized metro areas in its TV viewing area.
San Diego is just one county, so it’s ranked #30 in the country because it’s just San Diego and nothing else. That’s why it’s so low-ranked vis-a-vis its metro size.
In any event, I don’t think I’m really in disagreement with you here. KC (#33), Cincinnati (#37), Milwaukee (#38) and soon Vegas (#40) are all smaller, yet the former three are much larger geographically (look up a Nielsen media market map).
Thanks @chrisrg
LOL
Everyone but the 5 or so big market teams are screwed with TV money until the league reworks it.
Ctbronx7
It is a very affluent area, lots of wealthy businesses and people. The team is not going anywhere.
As for the ownership issue, I will leave that to Carnac the Magnificent.
I’m sorry but the idea that the Padres would be moved is one of the dumbest things I can think of. Sadly we hear it from too many people. They have arguably the best stadium/ attendance in MLB, easily the best weather. A noteworthy rivalry with currently the most hated team in baseball and no NBA or NFL team to compete with. It’s literally the perfect scenario for a new owner to walk into.
You think Portland is a better market than San Diego? Hahahahaha Portland is a craphole. Under Todd Gloria San Diego has gotten worse, but Portland is on a whole other level.
I have been to Portland recently, its a great city. I do think the stadium would need to be sized like the one being built in Vegas.
What does Pacific to the West have to do with anything.? It’s just like the all 5 teams on the WC. It’s North ,East and South. SMH.
Interesting situation in San Diego with Preller’s contract up.
If he doesnt have a new deal by mid summer, do you think he will have unmitigated authority to initiate and authorize trades at the end of July?
If he feels like it is his last season at the helm, and he is unencumbered to make trades, that will be something.
Hoping the Padres farm gets off to a roaring start this spring and has some standouts by the time the trade deadline rolls around.
Looks like Sheel was right. The Seidler brothers are trying to cash in on something they had no part in building.
Stop calling her by her first name like she’s an old friend of yours or something.
hey at least he didn’t say scumbob mattpants
@ringworm all of the individuals involved in the lawsuit have the same last name. What’s he supposed to refer to them as, Ms. Seidler and Messrs. Seidler and Seidler? There’s a reason the article and court docs are using their first names
Don’t you ever talk to Web’s #2 like that you dang parasite!
Do you prefer Seidler’s widow? Why does calling her by her first name offend you so much? How do you know I am not a friend? Does she have to be an old friend to be called by her first name? So many questions and no interest in answering yours.
Are they supposed to give the team away? I’d rather them cash out what’s theirs than stick around if they don’t want to be MLB owners anymore.
It wasn’t theirs. Any part those 3 have in it was given to them by their brother. Haven’t you read the court case?
Padres will look to shed salary before sale is completed. Peller is looking for a veteran bat and pitcher. Blue jays trade Santandar and Berrios and prospects and picks for Tatis Jr.
You need to put up some warning signs like…
“WARNING, Do Not Read This Will Drinking or Cheering”
I nearly choked to death reading this while reading this.
Really? 2 middling and overpaid vets signed for 3 & 4 more years, plus picks they can’t trade because they don’t have any beyond the 1 comp pick for Bichette, plus prospects. Might need Yesavage to make that work and I don’t imagine that’s what you were thinking. Probably more of the mediocre guys lower in the system. Nonstarter.
Diabolical use of free will.
Ah yes, a new owner will surely want to send off the most marketable player to the team that was at the top of the league in attendance last year. Seems like smart business!
He is the only player/contract that would bring something back.
we’re all entitled to an opinion, no matter how goofy
No, they won’t. Someone dishing out $2 billion for a professional sports team these days is not doing it to dismantle and try to turn a profit. They will be buying this as a toy, and they want that toy to be a good toy and have good players.
The mlb is not approving anymore bob nutting type owners. Too many billionaires, and too much interest.
Ha ha. Yeah. Steve Cohens everywhere just falling over themselves in the rush to buy a baseball team.
Exactly, who in their right mind would want to buy a ball team in the perfect climate that always has a packed house.
….thats in the same division as the games behemoth, has maxed out their debt to be competitive , relied on owner margin calls after the debt maxing out, has maxed out attendance with no room left to grow revenue, has a farm rated number 30, a number of widely regarded horrible contracts that will see the new owner paying guys into their 40’s.
You’re right though. Good climate and attendance.
Padres have over $500 million in revenue. They can easily afford a $250+ million payroll. From NBC7 San Diego, “In 2024, their gross revenue exceeded $500 million.”
There is no such thing as a margin call in general partnerships.
What horrible contracts? Bogaerts? That would be the only one that could possibly be considered bad.
They keep growing revenue even though you think its maxed out. Hmmm, what could that mean? That you are wrong?
Preller is a master at building farm systems. In his time here the Padres have gone from the bottom to the top multiple times. Luckily, prospects are not what makes winning teams. Major league players are.
Machado and Darvish contracts are bad. Musgrove’s is underwater right now but that can change if he returns to form in 2026. Some would say Cronenworth but I don’t agree with that.
Apparently they can’t afford it. That’s the reality. Very widely reported. Call it what you want. They have been bleeding cash. Feel free to ignore that if you wish. I’ll stick with the real world.
Bogaerts Machado Darvish. Horrible contracts paying guys into their 40’s.
Why would you trade for overpaid players if you are trying to shed salary?
No way Jays bite on that, Padres would have to throw in Merrill too.
You know, Jose Feliciano, you got no complaints
Jose Feliciano would have to be blind to be wanting to buy this team.
Lol. Bet that’s gonna go way over the heads of most on here oldg.
Nah man, Google is a thang.
Besides, the current fanbase of MLB is the correct demographic. (We all old)
I took the time to look it up… Well played.
Sell the team to the Dodgers.
The San Diego Dodgers-Padres of Los Angeles.
That could happen if the Padres owner – new or same – pays for a new Los Angeles Stadium. I can’t see two MLB teams occupying the same ballpark but who knows for sure.. It would be a gamble on the L.A. market eventually paying off enough to offset the new stadium cost. Younger Padres fans (10-30 years old or so) would eventually get over it and they are the important ones, economically speaking.
Kroenke is one of the people rumored to have interest in the team. I doubt he would move a team that has seen revenue triple in the last 10 years.
The Dodgers would just defer the payment for 10 years.
We thinking this is what is holding up a potential Preller extension? Extending him now can only hurt the value of the franchise.
Preller
The looming sale may be affecting the negotiation framework. If there’s anything Preller has done consistently for 11 years it’s increase the franchise valuation.
That was mostly the fact that they finally got an owner who was willing to invest, even if he did have a tendency to spend just to spend at times.
And said owner in 9 years of ownership backed Preller.
1. Seidler wasn’t in charge for 9 years.
2. That in no way proves the new owner will.
3. I’ll say it a third time. The new owner can extend Preller themselves if they want.
An impending sale of the franchise has absolutely no bearing on extending said POBO now. Just saying, don’t be surprised when AJ has an extension in place sooner rather than later.
Absolutely it does. I already explained why. You just like to listen to yourself argue.
Also a chance that Preller himself will want to know who the new owner is and how well he does or doesn’t get along with them first.
You explained your opinion, and it doesn’t factor properly. Good day sir!
Well that’s like, your opinion dawg!
Lol I expunged Ron Fowler from my memory banks. However, that means 2 separate ownership groups (3 if you wanna count the post-John Seidlers) gave Preller their seal of approval. I’m not wedded to him being POBO forever but an extension is not going to depress the franchise valuation in any meaningful way. I’m guessing with him in the last year of the contract and the sale looming both sides are going to slowplay it a bit.
That doesn’t mean the new owner will. Every owner is different. No organization preemptively extends a GM/POBO when they are on the verge of selling. No one is who interested in buying the team wants to be told “The team and this guy are a package deal.”
So he would be bought out and replaced, factoring his buyout into the sale price. Just stop with the foolishness already hahah
Why on Earth would you want to have to do that? Talk about unforced errors.
“Just stop with the foolishness already hahah.” Such pretentiousness.
You’re preaching a fool’s sermon. Have fun though!
Thank you Nostradamus.
I don’t know his contract terms but I doubt most POBOs are making anywhere close to 8 figures.. Counsell set the manager high bar with $8M AAV and I doubt POBOs would be pacing that. If he signed a 3 year extension tomorrow there’s no doubt in my mind it would have zero effect on the sale, an owner would just fire him and take the hit 0.05-0.1% hit of the sales price if they wanted their own guy in place. Like, no one is going to balk at buying a used car because they hate the hubcaps.. you just replace them afterwards. It’s relative chump change.
“Unforced error”
You think ? No bearing. AJ wouldn’t want to know ? That’s weird.
Padre fans have been saying “sooner rather than later” for months now. Just saying.
I’ll say it a fourth time… the new owner can extend Preller themselves if both sides are amenable. At this time it is not self-evident that they will be.
No (smart) owner bases their decisions on what the casual fans want.
It’s very possible the team is sold by end of this month. My guess is that Greupner and Preller were well aware the impending family settlement this offseason and they have a good sense of the schedule for team sale. The public quotes from FO and AJ are public massage, not message. Their awareness of the sale schedule very likely plays into the delay in AJ extension.
The sale of the team pre-lockout vs. post lockout might change the value of the Padres. If some sort of salary cap is put in place, the value of the Padres goes up. Considerably
If 100% revenue sharing goes into effect, which would be a prerequisite to a hard cap, the value of the team and all small market teams would go up even more
Leslie Neilsen should just sell the team already
Seidler not Seidel
Seidler not Seider.
Hard to believe Sheel’s lawsuit held up any transaction with anyone advised by competent legal counsel. Her claims seeking control of the team were frivolous. Her accounting and distribution claims, even if meritorious, are aimed at John Seidler and perhaps other trustees and would not be the responsibility of new owners.
Hi Matt Seidler. If her claims in the lawsuit were frivolous, the suit would not be ongoing.
I said only that the claims seeking control of the team were frivolous. I did not say that about the claims regarding accounting and distribution, which we know little about. The team control claims were dropped after “settlement”. While we do not know the settlement terms is bet we see nothing indicating any difference in Padre management
When an owner dies, MLB should sell the team to the highest bidder via blind auction. There are far too many 2nd gen ownership situations that are diabolically dysfunctional. I’m sure there must be one that has turned out okay, but all the ones I can think of suck, and suck badly, Padres, Nats, Tigers…
I don’t understand why the people who write for this site keep trotting out the same tired lines about payroll. The padres aren’t the Dodgers or mets they ain’t going to spend infinite money every year. Yet they still spend over 200 mil a year and always add at the deadline. Stop with the nonsense already.
If the Padres worth 2.3 billion
Then the Dodgers are worth between 15 to 20 billion.
Ha ha. This.
Preller to the Yankees.
The Padres are not moving. There isn’t a current MLB team likely to relocate except the A’s of course. If the PADRES did move it will likely be to Salt Lake City, although that would likely require a new team name. Ha.
SLC Batter-Day Saints?