“Commitment to excellence” is a famous phrase closely associated with the Raiders. It is a principle ascribed to by all associated with the revered franchise. Jonathan Martinez, VP of revenue planning and analytics for the Raiders, would certainly agree, and his pledge has continued through his career with the Raiders, which has spanned three decades.
Martinez started about as low on the Raiders ladder as one possibly could. In 2006, as a college student, he nabbed an unpaid internship to help establish grassroots marketing and ticketing efforts for the then Oakland Raiders (the team relocated to Las Vegas in 2020). He made the rounds at events like art fairs and wine festivals, passing out ticketing flyers.
“I made sure to take advantage of all the opportunities that were made available to the internship group, especially when it came to opportunities to working inside the office,” Martinez remembers. “I would come in and stuff envelopes, mail out fan kits, and whatever else was asked of me at the time. My parents instilled a strong work ethic and the need to put your best foot forward. Those opportunities and my work ethic were a big part of landing a job with the team after my internship concluded.”
Since then, Martinez has landed several promotions. Rising from a small ticketing team to overseeing revenue planning and analytics for the organization, Martinez has earned every role, just like his colleagues on the field earn every yard.
“I won’t ever forget the people who helped me, who came up with me, and where I come from.”
Jonathan Martinez
Martinez played a key role in capitalizing on the NFL’s Global Markets Program, which allows individual teams to bid for international markets. For the Raiders, that choice was clear: Mexico.
“Mexico made the most sense for the Raiders,” Martinez says. “Getting that project accomplished for the organization was one of the most rewarding campaigns I was able to lead. The assignment was deeply personal, as I was able to connect with my Mexican roots and interject my heritage into the venture, from initial plans to strategies, and implementation. This endeavor is quite wide-ranging, as it also includes teaming up with a company based in Monterrey, Mexico, who are our first ever international preseason broadcast partner.”
The VP currently oversees three verticals in his organization: business analytics, research, and insights. His responsibilities run a wide gamut from analytics, data storytelling, reporting, and pricing to driving business decisions based on those findings. Still, he’s also found time to foster employee inclusion within the NFL team that is well known for its diversity.
Last year, Martinez helped launch the Raiders’ Latino employee resource group, Familia, and now serves as its executive sponsor. But he says his real desire for the group is to see the members embrace more opportunities to network with each other, find resources among each other, and garner leadership opportunities within the group.
“The timing was so great because I had two different individuals approach me around the same time about launching a group,” Martinez explains. “Our African American group, B.A.S.E.D (Black & Silver Efforts in Diversity), deserves all the credit for paving the way at the Raiders for being the first ERG to be established in 2021, which opened the door for us to create Familia. It’s a way for us to embrace our culture, our heritage, give back to our community, and expose our teammates within the organization to our traditions and customs.”
Martinez says the Raiders have a long history of breaking down racial barriers. Former head coach Art Shell was the first African American NFL head coach of the modern era, and before him, Tom Flores was the first Hispanic NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl. Jim Plunkett was the first Hispanic quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP. The Raiders are currently led by President Sandra Douglass Morgan, the first African American woman in NFL history to serve in the role.
In fact, his wife, current SVP and Chief Sales Officer Qiava Martinez, is among the top Black executives in the NFL and is part of a diverse C-suite of executives that makes the Raiders so unique, not only in professional sports, but in the corporate landscape. The VP takes the issues of race identity and visibility seriously.
“I have a biracial daughter who will always be seen as a Black woman,” Martinez says. “She’s Mexican and Black, but society is going to label her one way. I want to create a world where that doesn’t have to define her. I want her character and work ethic to be what defines her legacy.”
“[My daughter is] Mexican and Black, but society is going to label her one way. I want to create a world where that doesn’t have to define her. I want her character and work ethic to be what defines her legacy.”
Jonathan Martinez
Martinez attributes his values of hard work and sacrifice to his mother and late father, both first-generation Mexicans who worked hard to afford private school for him and his sister. He only realized later in life how much his parents had given up to make sure their family had what they needed.
“My parents provided a great life for their children,” Martinez says. “So much of my career has been motivated by showing them that their investment was worth it. I won’t ever forget the people who helped me, who came up with me, and where I come from.”
Actually, that famous Raiders credo was instilled into Martinez long before he joined the Silver and Black. It began within his familia as “compromiso con la excelencia.”
This article was originally published on HispanicExecutive.com.