The San Diego Padres may be in financial trouble, but we continue to hear nothing from the team on the topic. 

A recent report from Barry M. Bloom of Forbes Sports indicates that the San Diego Padres are losing “double-digit millions” per season.

This estimation is coming from John Moores, who owned the team from 1994 to 2012.

Now, it is unclear how Mr. Moores knows this as a fact, but he went on record to say this in an article. That is a bit troubling. Though Moores has not owned the Padres for almost 15 years, he surely still has connections within the team and within Major League Baseball itself. All efforts to contact the Padres to comment on this issue were ignored.

We already know the Padres may be up for sale as a nasty family fight is brewing between Sheel Seidler, the widow of Peter Seidler, and the Seidler brothers. The lawsuit brought on by Sheel Seidler is still pending with the Texas courts. There is no indication when or if this will be resolved anytime soon. Peter Seidler’s brothers remain in control of the daily operations of the team, but the future is cloudy.

One of Sheel Seidler’s accusations in her lawsuit was that the Seidler brothers intended to move the Padres out of San Diego. That seems silly, being that the franchise is in the best state in its 57-year existence. A record number of fans are piling into Petco Park to watch the Padres. However, if the team is indeed losing money each season, this makes some sense.

The San Diego Padres are presently without a television contract. Initially, the Padres were to obtain roughly $60 million per season for their television rights from Diamond Sports (Bally Sports). The deal imploded as Diamond Sports filed for bankruptcy. MLB stepped in to provide a television broadcast, but the Padres are getting roughly $17 million per season now, losing tens of millions of dollars per year.

This is a huge issue for the Padres. Not earning that television money may be turning this profitable franchise into one in trouble.

Even though Petco Park is selling out virtually every game, the Padres still have one of the highest payrolls in the league. If the payroll stays as it presently is, the team will pay around $8 million in a luxury tax. The issue is, the roster is not complete, and spending more money will need to happen. Thus, a new payroll tax threshold may be passed. It’s either that or sell off a high-priced player to gain some financial flexibility. Not a happy thought if you are a Padres fan.

All this is speculation as the Padres refuse to comment about the finances of the club.

Jacob Lacob, the Golden State Warriors majority owner, recently talked to the San Francisco Chronicle about the Padres being up for sale. He stated that he’s “always interested in looking into new opportunities and buying the Padres might be something he’d explore.” The thought is that he may try to move the team up north to the Oakland/San Jose area.

The Padres are ranked 17th by Forbes in terms of value at $1.95 billion. It would take an impressive package of owners to buy the team and move them out of San Diego. It would take a lot for that to happen. The Padres are under contract with the stadium downtown until the 2033 season. The city owns roughly 70 percent of Petco Park.

Conceivably, a new ownership group could come in and buy the team and buy out the remaining years on the stadium lease downtown. They could move the team out of the area, but would need to get through a ton of red tape to do so. It could happen, but it seems very unlikely. The Padres are showing that a smaller market can compete if they put their best foot forward. Major League Baseball values that fact.

For the Padres, a television deal is badly needed. There is no clear vision for obtaining that contract. Losing that money is starting to really put a pinch on this franchise. They have hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars committed to a handful of players for the next six to eight years. Something may have to give in the near future.

For now, the fans will speculate on the finances of the club. There is no clear answer from the team.

This latest report from Forbes is troubling. If this franchise is indeed losing tens of millions of dollars each season, changes will be made.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.