Troy Aikman is no longer part of the ownership group that set a Major League Baseball record this year. The Hall of Fame quarterback confirmed he sold his stake in the San Diego Padres and is finally explaining why.

“No, I’m done. I was involved with them for about three years,” Aikman said on the Your Dark Companion podcast. “… What happened is, when our ownership group took over majority interest, we were slowly buying out Mr. Moores, who owned the team. But once we gained majority interest, we had to then be approved by baseball; more specifically, Jeff Moorad [leader of the ownership group] had to be approved by baseball as the managing general partner. And he did not get approved. So we then sold the team.”

Here’s how Troy Aikman ended up owning a stake in a baseball team. In 2009, a group led by Jedd Moorad agreed to buy the Padres from former owner John Moore. The purchase was structured in phases. Moorad acquired an initial 35% stake in 2009, then increased the share to 49% by 2010.

Moorad had a five-year window to complete the purchase, but failed to secure approval from the other baseball team owners. They refused to bring it to a vote, and Moorad stepped down as CEO in 2012.

That same year, Moores sold the team for $800 million to a group led by Ron Fowler.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. The Padres were sold for a record-breaking $3.9 billion to José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones, who also co-own Chelsea Football Club. The record was held by Steve Cohen’s $2.4 billion purchase of the New York Mets, which was finalized in 2020.

Troy Aikman was a talented baseball player in his youth. On the Rushmore podcast, the former quarterback said he’d have chosen baseball if he were forced to choose one. Aikman also played basketball in high school.

Before pursuing his college football career in Oklahoma, the quarterback was a target for the New York Mets. The franchise called him right before the draft to ask what it would take for him to ditch Oklahoma and turn pro, and Aikman asked for $250,000. Ultimately, the deal did not pan out.