Joey and Jesse Buss, the brothers who spent nearly two decades running basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers before getting fired last year, have landed a new gig on the other side of Southern California's sports map: advising the ownership group that just bought the San Diego Padres. The Padres confirmed the pair will join the advisory board of the team's new ownership group, led by entrepreneur Kwanza Jones and private equity billionaire José E. Feliciano, whose $3.9 billion purchase of the franchise closed last week.
According to 10News, the Buss brothers will hold around 5% of the Padres, joining the group through their firm, Buss Sports Capital. That $3.9 billion price tag, per ESPN's reporting cited by the station, set an MLB record, eclipsing the previous benchmark set in November 2020 when hedge fund manager Steve Cohen bought a 95% stake in the New York Mets for $2.4 billion, according to MLB.com. Following MLB's unanimous approval of the transaction on August 17, Kwanza Jones became the first Black woman in league history to hold a majority ownership stake in a franchise, as reported by Baller Alert.
From Lakers Front Office to Padres Advisory Board
Joey and Jesse Buss were abruptly terminated from their front-office roles with the Lakers in November 2025 by controlling owner Mark Walter, ending careers that saw Joey serve as alternate governor and South Bay Lakers president while Jesse worked as assistant GM and scouting director, according to the Los Angeles Times. Jesse said he and Joey spent nearly two decades building careers in professional basketball operations, and that they applied lessons across talent evaluation, roster construction, player development and long-term organizational planning. He added that the principles for building sustained success are universal across sports.
Joey said sports have always been part of his family's story, and that he and Jesse had loved the Padres since childhood in San Diego. The brothers launched Buss Sports Capital using proceeds from their family's sale of majority control in the Lakers, and the firm has moved quickly beyond baseball: in July, it submitted bids to acquire prospective NBA Europe expansion franchises in London, Manchester and Lyon, per a report from iHeart.
A Rivalry With the Dodgers' Owner
The brothers' new advisory role also sets up an unusual rivalry storyline. Mark Walter, the man who fired them from the Lakers, is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres' longtime NL West division rival, a dynamic detailed by KPBS. The Buss family sold its controlling stake in the Lakers to Walter in 2025, and the fallout hasn't fully settled: five Buss siblings voted to sell their remaining 17.8% minority stake in the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, who have announced plans to purchase a controlling stake in the team from Walter in a deal reportedly valued at $12.5 billion — a sum that, if completed, would set a record total for an NBA franchise. Team governor Jeanie Buss has opposed that sale in an effort to maintain her leadership position, per the same KPBS report.
Padres Chase a Historic Postseason Run
The Seidler family originally purchased the Padres in August 2012 for $800 million alongside Ron Fowler, a stake that grew in value by nearly 388% over 14 years under the late Peter Seidler's leadership before the sale to Feliciano and Jones, according to FOX Sports. Seidler took over full control of the team in 2020 before passing away in November 2023. Feliciano, who co-founded private equity firm Clearlake Capital, already has international sports experience as a minority owner of English Premier League club Chelsea FC, per Forbes.
On the field, the new ownership inherits a team in the thick of a playoff race. The Padres currently hold a slim lead on the third National League wild card spot as they pursue a postseason berth. If they qualify, it would mark the first three-season consecutive postseason run in franchise history. That push comes on the heels of a record-setting 2025 campaign, when San Diego drew 3,437,201 fans across 81 home games at Petco Park, ranking second in MLB behind only the Dodgers, as Hoodline previously reported.
Feliciano and Jones have promised to maintain aggressive payroll spending while enforcing financial discipline as the club pursues its first World Series title in franchise history, per Sports Illustrated's reporting on the ownership transition. How that private equity discipline blends with the Padres' recent era of heavy spending remains an open question for fans, but the attendance boom and the current playoff push give the new owners an unusually strong foundation to build on.
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