Quarterback Marcus Mariota became an exhibit in the landmark O’Bannon vs. NCAA antitrust case Friday.

Well, not him, exactly, but his popular and highly lucrative No. 8 University of Oregon jersey.

A plaintiffs’ attorney dialed up a Ducks logo merchandise website in a federal courtroom in Oakland, Calif., and asked NCAA President Mark Emmert if he knew Mariota’s jersey number.

Emmert, a graduate and former president of the University of Washington replied, "I’m a Husky so, no, I probably don’t," according to a USA Today tweet (@GeorgeSchroeder) from the trial.

It made for one of the lighter moments in Emmert’s sometimes terse testimony in the two-week trial, but the central point — athlete-related items are big business for the NCAA and its member schools — could not be laughed off. 

Go to the online Duck Store and punch up a listing of most popular items and you find replicas of Mariota’s No. 8 jersey. Walk into a Duck Store in the state of Oregon, or glance at the window display of one, and chances are you will see one, or more, of Mariota’s No 8.

They come in yellow, white, apple green, black, gray … for $90-$120. But you can also find No. 8 in toddler ($45) and preschool ($50) sizes, so wide is the demand.

What you can’t find is a dime of the money going directly to the man who has worn it while guiding the Ducks to a 23-3 record as a starter.  

And that’s at the crux of the case, whether athletes should be compensated for use of their so-called NLI (names, likenesses or identities) under the NCAA’s guise of protecting their amateur standing. The plaintiffs, including former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, are requesting an injunction prohibiting the NCAA from denying athletes pay for the use of their NLI.

EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Co. previously agreed to pay approximately $40 million to settle suits brought by former players whose likenesses were used in video games. Thousands of past and current players can apply to share in the payout.

Because of litigation, the NCAA’s own website no longer allows customers to order player-affiliated jerseys. But many schools still do.

Understand that Mariota hasn’t asked for a cent. The Saint Louis School graduate has said he valued the opportunity to get an education and play at Oregon. That is a stance he held to Friday while vacationing following his graduation, the family said.

But Mariota has the prospect of a multi-million-dollar NFL career ahead and commercial endorsements after the 2014 season, which many under the NCAA’s thumb do not.

Then there is the hypocrisy of the NCAA, where executives are highly paid while enforcing bans on athletes sharing in the money they bring in.

While Emmert doesn’t know Mariota’s number, there may be a figure surrounding the NCAA president that the athletes are unfamiliar with, too.

It is $1.67 million, Emmert’s annual salary.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.