Quarterback Marcus Mariota is an NFL rookie but his growing portfolio of endorsements is hardly beginner’s luck.

With the debut of his First Hawaiian Bank “Origin” commercial Monday that traced backward his steps from the University of Oregon to Saint Louis School and Nuuanu Elementary, the Heisman Trophy winner has six contracts underway with another to be announced shortly, representatives said.

“It is about credibility on the field and if you are not credible on the field, endorsements are not going to come,” said Alan Zucker of Excel Sports, Mariota’s New York-based agent for marketing and brand management. “However, if you are good at what you do, if you have the (makings) of a great player and you have the ability to form a lasting impression on people’s minds, (companies) are going to want to work with you. That’s how it works,” Zucker said.

And it has been working exceedingly well for Mariota. He ranks well on the Celebrity DBI, an index that measures and ranks 3,600 celebrities in appeal, aspiration, trust, endorsement influence and other key attributes, said Dallas-based Matt Fleming of The Marketing Arm, a brand engagement agency.

“For someone just coming out of college and the draft, if he is not at the top on his own, he is definitely higher than anyone who has come through before him in a while,” Fleming said. 

Of 1,000 consumers — sports and non-sports — polled from across the U. S., Fleming said about 30 percent knew of Mariota. Just as important, they say Mariota appealed to them in key categories. “To summarize, of the people who know (of) him, they think incredibly highly of him and liked him quite a bit,” Fleming said.

For Mariota that has meant being able to pick and choose from an array of offers that have so far brought him deals with Nike, Subway and Beats by Dre among others. 

“The kind of companies he is associating with and the types of the deals that he has done, I think is unusual,” said Zucker, who has more than 20 years as a marketing agent representing the Mannings — Archie, Peyton and Eli — Joe Montana, Taylor Swift and Danica Patrick. “I would certainly say he is one of the most-marketed rookies that I’ve seen in some time.”

Zucker said Peyton and Eli, “I think had similar starts and they are very similar in terms of who they are off the field and the hype that they had coming in. Although neither one won a Heisman, both were highly touted rookies, both were very good on the field and had stellar reputations off the field. I’d say it is very similar in stature, but that’s precisely one of the reasons why I was attracted to Marcus and wanted to work with him so much.”

Mariota is also in the process of setting up a foundation that “will definitely have roots in Hawaii and other locations such as Tennessee and Oregon,” Zucker said.

“”We’re in contact with people who are looking to work with Marcus and, right now, I think he is very happy with the niche that he has. We will be looking at opportunities on a regular basis but, for now, his No. 1 goal and objective is to be the best Tennessee Titan quarterback that he can be and what is where the focus will be.”

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