Report: Drew Brees part of group trying to buy Padres

Drew Brees appears ready to return to the San Diego sports scene - this time in the boardroom.

The Hall of Fame quarterback, who started his illustrious career with the then-San Diego Chargers, is part of a group that's attempting to buy the Padres, sources told Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Brees has reportedly partnered with Joe Kudla, the CEO of clothing company Vuori, to bid for the franchise.

Brees and Kudla are one of five groups that submitted initial bids for the team prior to Wednesday's deadline, per Lin and Rosenthal.

Brees, 47, played for the Chargers from 2001-05 during some of the last years that the NFL team shared a stadium with the Padres. He left San Diego as a free agent in 2006 and spent the remainder of his career with the New Orleans Saints.

Despite switching teams, Brees has maintained a presence in San Diego and has been spotted at Petco Park several times over the last few years.

Kudla, a Southern California native, told Men's Health in November that he's become good friends with Brees.

The Brees-Kudla group faces stiff competition for the team, including from Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, according to Lin and Rosenthal. In previous years, Lacob has unsuccessfully tried to buy other MLB teams, including the Los Angeles Angels and the Athletics before they left Oakland.

Other potential buyers include José E. Feliciano, owner of the English Premier League's Chelsea FC, and San Diego native Dan Friedkin, the chairman of European soccer clubs Everton and AS Roma, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

A sale is expected to be completed in the next few months, perhaps as soon as Opening Day, Acee adds.

Padres majority owner John Seidler, along with his family, put the team up for sale in November. John's father, Peter, who died in 2023, bought the team with then-partner Ron Fowler in 2012. A dispute over ownership between members of the Seidler family was settled out of court.

The Seidlers' asking price for the Padres is apparently close to $3 billion, sources told Lin and Rosenthal. If met, that would shatter the MLB record for a purchase price. Steve Cohen set the current mark when he bought the New York Mets for $2.42 billion in 2020. Forbes valued the Padres at $1.95 billion last spring, with the club ranking 17th out of 30 teams.

MLB's collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, and it's widely expected that the league will lock out its players then.