Marcus Mariota marks 10 years of Motiv8 Foundation charity golf tournament

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – NFL quarterback Marcus Mariota and his Motiv8 Foundation took over Pearl at Kalauao Monday for their annual charity golf tournament, marking the event’s 10th year.

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Funds raised from the tournament support Mariota’s year-round community efforts in Hawaii and in other places he has called home.

“People really get to see what that dollar means and makes a difference,” Mariota said. “I’m just forever grateful to be in this position and I look forward to this every year.”

“It’s wild to think the amount of people that have been affected and it’s really from the generosity of so many people here,” he added.

Mariota’s family members help run the tournament.

“All the credit goes to my wife, my mom, and Kari (Ann Liebertz, operations manager) who’s really the three women that lead the foundation and do this type of work,” Mariota said.

Mariota said the tournament also gives his children a chance to experience his old stomping grounds.

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“Each year as it continues forward, like, being able to bring my kids home,” Mariota said, “being here for a couple of weeks at a time, just to be able just to see them experience the things that I got to experience, that’s so important to me.”

This year’s tournament marks Mariota’s 12th NFL season and his third with the Washington Commanders. It is his fifth team, and he said he hopes to stay in Washington.

“It’s kind of crazy to think that this would be the second-longest stint outside of the Titans,” Mariota said. “When you have such a great staff, when you’re led by a great person like (head coach Dan Quinn), you realize that you don’t want to bounce around, you don’t want to chase something else.”

Mariota started eight games last season for the injured Jayden Daniels. The experience reignited his passion for the game as he moved into a mentorship role in the quarterback room.

“I really enjoyed being out there regardless of the result of it,” Mariota said. “It’s a game that I’ve loved since I was a kid and never wanted to be in those circumstances where you play, but the chance to play and to be out there was a lot of fun and something that I very much cherished.”

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Mariota is set to report for Commanders training camp at the end of July.