Portis finally pays $18K to settle dispute over No. 26

Ohalete doesn't expect to have any contact with Portis.

"I don't have any need to talk to him," Ohalete said. "I don't think we were friends before and I don't think we'll be friends now. It was all business."

Athletes' attachments to certain jersey numbers is ubiquitous on all levels, leading to spats when ordering uniforms for church league softball and deep-pocketed deals between marquee pros.

Eli Manning, for example, had to pay for punter Jeff Feagles' family vacation to Florida to snag the preferred No. 10 after the New York Giants drafted Manning with the No. 1 overall pick in 2004. Feagles also got a new kitchen in his home from Plaxico Burress when he gave Burress his No. 17 after the wide receiver signed with New York.

But this case was one of the most extreme. Negotiations between Steren and Portis' agents, Drew and Jason Rosenhaus, went nowhere until Portis put the matter into the hands of a lawyer Monday.

Steren said Ohalete was content to give up the $2,000, given the time and trouble it would have taken for the player to travel from Arizona for a civil trial.

"It would have been a little bit of trouble to come here," Steren said.

Portis' attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.