Seidler Family Makes Huge Announcement Regarding Padres' Future

The ownership of the San Diego Padres stabilized under the late Peter Seidler, with the franchise enjoying their greatest decade of success ever since Ron Fowler sold his majority share of the team to Seidler in 2020.

Three years later, Seidler died, leaving ownership of the team to a family trust helmed by his brother, John.

Thursday, the Seidlers revealed they might relinquish control of the franchise.

"The family has decided to begin a process of evaluating our future with the Padres, including a potential sale of the franchise," team chairman John Seidler said in a statement. "We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter’s legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise’s long-term success. During the process and as we prepare for the 2026 season, the Padres will continue to focus on its players, employees, fans, and community while putting every resource into winning a World Series championship. We remain fully committed to this team, its fans, and the San Diego community.”

In 2019, the last year of Fowler's ownership tenure, the Padres ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball with a $104 million payroll. The team had never paid a penalty under MLB's competitive balance tax structure.

But by the end of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Padres ranked sixth in MLB in payroll. Their payrolls have placed the Padres in the Top 10 in all but one year-end ranking since — a dramatic departure in the history of a team that plays in one of the country's smaller media markets.

Any change to the team's ownership structure invites the possibility that the Padres' payroll will hew closer to the team's market size. Even a potential sale has, in the past, prompted teams to trim costs in advance of a transfer of ownership.

The Padres have several star players under long-term contract, a rarity for a team whose history has been marked by inconsistency and mediocrity.

Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill are signed through 2034. Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado are signed through 2033.

More to come on this story.