Major League Baseball’s former chief financial officer Jonathan Mariner is joining the board of directors for Overtime, the celebrity-backed sports media company.
Mariner, an investor and entrepreneur, spent more than 14 years at the MLB office where he served in various roles including CFO, executive vice president and chief investment officer where he oversaw more than $2 billion in combined leaguewide assets and investment funds. Mariner was also responsible for conducting MLB’s risk management activities and financial reporting.
“I have a pretty deep appreciation for running leagues and understanding the intricacies of sports as well as connections,” Mariner said in an interview. “You can get any number of really smart and successful business people to be on the board but I think I can bring contextual insights that will make me more productive.”
Mariner, who is also founder of software firm TaxDay, is inserting himself deeper into the amateur sports scene after spending more than two decades in the pro industry, which included roles as CFO for the Miami Marlins and Dolphins Stadium. He’s familiar with the Liberty Media-backed Overtime already as he was an outside senior advisor for the 2021 launch of Overtime Elite (OTE) in Atlanta, the disruptive basketball league that plays high school players six-figure salaries. Mariner later invested in Overtime through venture partner Black Capital, which was part of the company’s $80 million Series C funding round.
Mariner, who joined his first Overtime board meeting last month, has served on numerous executive boards including Tyson Foods, Rocket Companies and Little League Baseball. A member of the Knight Commission, a leadership group for college sports, he joins an Overtime board that includes co-founders Dan Porter and Zack Weiner, FUBU CEO Daymond John, Sapphire Sport founding partner Michael Spirito, Winslow Capital Management portfolio manager Kelly Flynn and Liberty Media Vice President Corporate Development Josef Hoelscher.
Overtime, which was founded in 2016, is funded by some of the top VC firms including Andreesseen Horowitz, Sapphire Sport and Spark Capital. The New York-based sports media brand also has received investment from several celebrities, including Drake and Jeff Bezos as well as dozens of current and former NBA players.
Overtime oversees various sports leagues, most notably OTE. The parent company also launched a Cam Newton-backed 7v7 football league last year and recently followed up by announcing its foray into boxing (OTX Boxing) earlier this year.
