There have been many non-believers in the five months since Hayne’s other bombshell media conference, when he announced that he was walking out of Parramatta to pursue a long-held dream of playing in the NFL.

He has signed a fat deal with Telstra, whose auditorium in the Sydney CBD was the scene for Tuesday’s announcement that Hayne had taken a significant step closer to making the dream a reality.

The media conference certainly had enough chutzpah befitting the NFL.

“It’s the San Francisco 49ers,” Hayne declared, before reaching under the desk and producing a red 49ers cap and plonking it on his head. The iconic 49ers emblem glowed on the giant screen behind him.

Footage of Jarryd Hayne’s State of Origin heroics helped convince US agent Jack Bechta that the former Parramatta Eels fullback “can make it in the NFL and play for a long time”.

Before convincing Hayne and his Australian agent Wayne Beavis that he was best suited to represent the 27-year-old, Bechta studied hours of footage of Hayne highlights, including full games of him playing for NSW. “Once I heard his name and that he was coming over, I just didn’t watch highlight films, I watched Origin tapes,” Bechta told Fairfax Media. “I watched a lot of clips of him playing, and seeing him in Origin won me over because you could tell the guy plays with a deep, dark passion and determination that is head and shoulders above everyone else. He checked all the boxes, that’s why I wanted to represent him. I appreciate the toughness in watching him play.”

Jarryd Hayne stands to earn more than $2 million over the next three years if he can make the 53-man roster at the San Francisco 49ers.

Fairfax Media can reveal Hayne’s three-year contract with the 49ers, which has now officially been lodged with the NFL, is worth $US1.58 million – more than $2 million.

The contract includes a $US107,100 guarantee as well as an $US8000 signing bonus – financial incentives neither the Detroit Lions nor Seattle Seahawks were willing to offer the 27-year-old.

Excerpts from Originally Published Articles on Sydney Morning Herald
March 4, 2015 – Jarryd Hayne believes – do you?
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March 4, 2015 – State of Origin footage helped convince US agent Jack Bechta that Jarryd Hayne can make it in NFL
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March 10, 2015 – Jarryd Hayne stands to earn more than $2 million over the next three years at San Francisco 49ers
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