NFL: Hayne joins San Francisco 49ers team

By Peter Mitchell

NZ Herald·

6 Sep, 2015 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Jarryd Hayne's pre-season performances have stunned those around the San Francisco 49ers. Photo / Getty

Former Australian NRL star Jarryd Hayne is to sign a three-year US$1.538 million ($2.448 million) deal with the San Francisco 49ers after being confirmed on the team's 53-man roster.

But the code-swapping league player, whose father, Manoa Thompson, played one season with the Warriors, had a nervous wait for the news he'd longed to hear.

Hayne tried to remain cool, but as he stood on the edge of San Francisco Bay on Saturday morning, he decided enough was enough. His career was on the line and he had to halt the sightseeing.

Hayne wanted to know if he was a San Francisco 49er or not, so 15 minutes after the deadline for the team to announce its roster, he called his US agent Jack Bechta.

"Do I have a job?" Hayne, 27, asked. The answer was sweet.

The former star of the NRL's Parramatta Eels hugged his mother Jodie and sisters Jessi-Lee and Taygan, who had flown from Sydney to visit.

There were tears, but there were no champagne corks or lavish lunches. The Haynes continued the sightseeing and visited a museum.

The religious athlete was raised in state housing in Sydney's southwest and is blessed with a powerful, 188cm tall body and speed.

He has made a big impression during the NFL pre-season. He ranked third in the NFL pre-season and expected to function largely as a punt returner for the 49ers during the regular season.

"This whole journey was never about making a roster," Hayne said on a conference call. "It was about giving myself an opportunity.

"I wanted to take a risk."

He did have doubts, particularly in his first weeks at the 49ers' facility in Santa Clara, south of San Francisco, when he found himself walking into the team's classrooms and being unable to decipher the terminology other running backs and special teams coaches were using.