According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the O’Malley family have won the bidding for the San Diego Padres. They will pay $800 million. $600 million will be for the team. $200 million will go toward the rights to the recent Fox Sports San Diego deal.
Jeff Moorad was to be the Padres next majority owner. He purchased the team on a payment plan back in 2009. He and his group were prepared to make their final payment earlier this year – a full two years early. However, it quickly became apparent that the other owners and Major League Baseball would not approve his group. He bowed out and John Moores put the team back up for sale.
It did not take long for the Padres to gain interest. After the Dodgers sale was complete, there were numerous interested parties including Thomas Tull, Stephen Cohen, and the O’Malley family. The O’Malley family, famous for their time owning the Dodgers and for moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles, eventually became the favorites. They are now the soon-to-be owners of the Padres. According to Dayn Perry of CBS Sports:
"The new ownership group includes four grandchildren of Walter O’Malley, the Dodger owner who relocated the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, and professional golfer Phil Mickelson. Moores has owned the Padres since 1994; the O’Malley family sold the Dodgers in 1998."