A group led by Chelsea Football Club co-owner Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones is closing in on a deal to purchase the San Diego Padres for what will be a record-shattering $3.9 billion, multiple people briefed on the process told The Athletic.<\/p>\n
The expected agreement, which will require approval by 75 percent of the league\u2019s owners, easily surpasses the $2.42 billion Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020. While the final net amount will be subject to the Padres\u2019 roughly $300 million in debt and other terms, the new benchmark for an MLB sale could reverberate throughout the sport as it approaches a pivotal labor fight.<\/p>\n
Born in Puerto Rico, Feliciano is the co-founder and managing partner of Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm based in Santa Monica, Calif. In 2022, Clearlake and Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly led a consortium that purchased Chelsea, one of the English Premier League\u2019s most prominent clubs, in a $5.24 billion deal. Forbes estimates Feliciano\u2019s net worth at $3.9 billion.<\/p>\n
Jones, who attended Princeton University with Feliciano, is the founder and CEO of media and personal development company Supercharged. She and her husband co-founded the Kwanza Jones & Jos\u00e9 E. Feliciano Initiative, an investment and philanthropic organization that has committed more than $250 million to various efforts.<\/p>\n
For the Padres, the couple outbid three other groups, led by Dan Friedkin, the owner of EPL club Everton; Tom Gores, the owner of the NBA\u2019s Detroit Pistons; and Joe Lacob, the owner of the Golden State Warriors. According to league sources, at least one of the other final bids came in around $3.5 billion.<\/p>\n
The Padres were put up for sale in November, two years after the death of late owner Peter Seidler, who, along with Ron Fowler, led a group that purchased the franchise for $800 million in 2012. Under Seidler, San Diego acquired star talent and spent at unprecedented levels, attracting national attention to one of MLB\u2019s smallest media markets. Since 2024, the Padres have fielded more modest payrolls but continued to experience on-field success despite a recently resolved legal dispute<\/a> between Seidler\u2019s widow, Sheel Seidler, and two of her brothers-in-law.<\/p>\n With a sale likely to be finalized in the coming weeks, Feliciano and Jones are set to take over a brand that has surged in popularity amid leaguewide labor unrest. MLB\u2019s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and the Padres\u2019 $3.9 billion price tag likely will be a significant talking point<\/a> as the Players Association argues that franchise values keep soaring even without a salary cap, the major change owners are expected to pursue in negotiations. As recently as early 2025, Forbes estimated the Padres\u2019 value at less than $2 billion.<\/p>\n During a recent, frenzied bidding process, some industry sources have cautioned against treating the Padres as a proxy for the broader market. San Diego, which ranks near the bottom of the majors in local media revenue, stands to benefit more than most clubs from potential labor reform. Meanwhile, a new CBA that includes a cap-and-floor system or other restrictions could most directly impact the Padres\u2019 chief rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won back-to-back World Series while outspending the rest of the sport. Boehly, one of Feliciano\u2019s Chelsea co-owners, was a key member of the group that bought the Dodgers from Frank McCourt for $2 billion in 2012.<\/p>\n At a business conference in March, Feliciano was asked about Chelsea\u2019s status soon after the club booked the highest pre-tax deficit in English football history.<\/p>\n