The Los Angeles Angels are heading into a new ownership era, and the price tag attached to it is already making history.
Arte Moreno, who has owned the club since 2003, is selling the Angels to Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. The deal is not expected to be finalized until 2027, but the franchise valuation in the sale is set to become the new MLB record.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is no stranger to major-league ownership. The company already controls the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the Colorado Rapids of MLS and Arsenal F.C. of the Premier League.
Per ESPN, the Angels are being sold for $4 billion, which pushes the club to the top of baseball’s all-time franchise sale list. That mark is the second time in 2026 that MLB’s record has been broken.
Earlier this year, the San Diego Padres’ $3.9 billion sale took the top spot before being overtaken by the Angels. Before those deals, Steve Cohen’s 2020 purchase of the New York Mets at $2.4 billion stood as the high-water mark.
The updated top of the MLB list now looks like this: Angels at $4 billion, Padres at $3.9 billion, Mets at $2.4 billion, Dodgers at $2.15 billion, Mariners at $1.4 billion, Marlins at $1.2 billion, Royals at $1 billion, Cubs at $845 million, Padres at $800 million and Red Sox at $660 million.
Kroenke addressed the move in a statement to ESPN, saying, "The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market," Kroenke wrote in a statement about the sale, per ESPN. "We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization."
At 79, Kroenke is best known for his role in the Rams’ return from St. Louis to Los Angeles in 2016 and for the construction of SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. His ownership group has built a reputation for winning across multiple sports in recent years.
Kroenke’s path to that kind of empire started in real estate, with ties to Walmart helping shape his fortune. He married Ann Walton in 1974; Walton is an heiress to the Walmart fortune, as her father, Bud Walton, was the brother of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Kroenke founded the Kroenke Group in 1983, a real estate development firm focused on shopping centers and apartment buildings around Walmart stores, and later launched THF Realty in 1991, which specializes in suburban development. As of 2026, he is the largest private landowner in the U.S.
His sports portfolio now stretches even further with the Angels added to a list that already includes the Rams, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rapids, Arsenal F.C., Arsental W.F.C. and the Colorado Mammoth.
The Angels’ sale also lands in the middle of a larger spending spree across North American sports. The Lakers recently set the overall record for franchise sales in the region when Josh Kushner and Bob Iger bought the NBA team for $12.5 billion. That tops the Lakers’ previous $10 billion sale to Mark Walter in 2025 and sits above other major deals like the Seahawks at $9.612 billion, Celtics at $6.1 billion, Commanders at $6.05 billion and Broncos at $4.65 billion.
For baseball, though, the Angels now sit alone at the top.
In Other News...
Padres Just Made An Ethan Salas Move That Could Matter In October
The Padres are adding one of their most closely watched young players to the roster for the final stretch, calling up Ethan Salas as part of September roster expansion. Salas opened the 2026 season in Double-A, earned a move to Triple-A, and has put together enough offense to convince the club he can help at the big-league level right now. The immediate role is straightforward: give San Diego a left-handed bat off the bench and another option as the games start to carry more weight.
What makes the move especially notable is the way it could carry beyond the regular season. Salas is expected to be eligible for the postseason roster, which gives the Padres another possible piece to lean on if they get where they want to go in October. He could be used as a designated hitter or at catcher, and for a team always balancing present needs with future upside, this is the kind of call-up that can ripple well beyond September. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Took Advantage Of A Padres Bullpen Concern At The Perfect Time
Mason Millers latest stretch has quietly become one of the more notable pressure points in San Diegos late-season push. The Padres closer had been so dominant for much of the year that even a little blemish stood out, and two straight outings with home runs allowed nudged his ERA from 0.81 to 1.26. Against the Rays, the sequence was especially frustrating when a fly ball he induced was first tracked down, only to ricochet over the fence for a tying homer.
For a Padres team fighting for a wild card spot, the concern is less about one unlucky bounce than about the bigger load Miller is carrying. His innings and appearances are nearing career highs, and that kind of usage has a way of inviting scrutiny once a reliever starts showing cracks. San Diego still has every reason to trust its closer, but these are the kinds of moments that can sharpen the focus on how much is left in the tank. [Read more 🡒]
Fernando Tatis Jr. Is Suddenly Carrying The Padres When It Matters Most
Fernando Tatis Jr. has spent August looking more like the force the Padres expected, and the timing could hardly be better. Over 27 games, he has gone deep nine times and put together a .901 OPS, a sharp turn from the quieter first four months that left him with only eight home runs through the end of July.
For San Diego, the uptick has mattered in the standings as much as it has in the box score. The Padres have used Tatis surge to edge ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for a slim lead in the National Leagues third Wild Card spot, and with the margin so tight, every productive night from their star carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]