Jarryd Hayne signs deal with sports wear giants
Jarryd Hayne’s “torturous” days of living in hotels will soon be over.
The San Francisco 49ers’ new recruit has signed a lucrative deal with major sportswear giant Under Armour, joining a high-profile stable that includes NBA star Stephen Curry, NFL quarterback Tom Brady and world No.1 golfer Jordan Spieth.
The former NRL and Parramatta Eels champion gave up his comfortable lifestyle and glittering career in Sydney to follow his American dream and with that came many hardships – like living in hotels.
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“I have been in here (hotel) for about four months now so it has been torture. I am not keen on hotels. It has been tough. Just little things like that, just having the comfort of your own place, little things that were sacrificed along the journey,” Hayne told Channel Nine’s Today show.
“Being comfortable and just, I guess, literally just not having four walls. That’s pretty much all I’ve been living in for the last couple of months.
“It is one of those things that I kind of just embraced and knew that I just had to go through that. That was part of the experience, part of the test.”
Hayne was only confirmed in the 53-man San Francisco 49ers roster last week and before that there was much speculation whether he would make the roster.
He has since made the grade and taken a cut in salary to achieve his dream.
“It was great to get the (sponsorship) deal done,” said Hayne. “To be with the company, it is all about the underdogs and that’s something that I have loved and the presentation was great that I seen many months ago.
“There are some great guys on board, Patty Mills, Stephen Curry and blokes like that that I definitely look up to them and have taken America by storm.”
The San Francisco 49ers kick-off their season against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday (Tuesday AEST), but Hayne remained coy about his chances of starting.
“I haven’t been spoken to personally by the coach or anything like that. For us it is just about preparing. I think the NFL as well, it is a game that it is kind of not like league where you are out there for 40 minutes.
“You are only out there for little periods of time. Mentally it is a lot different in preparation. It is more if you get the call-up you get the call-up.
“If you don’t, you know what I mean, you don’t … you just go through the procedure of that. For me, it is all about the experience and just learning every day.”
San Francisco coach Jim Tomsula has been playing a cat and mouse game all week with the mentor saying he wanted to keep his opponents in the dark about his line-up.
The teams will be announced 90 minutes before kick-off.