The manager for former rugby star turned 49ers preseason sensation Jarryd Hayne has poured cold water on talk of him leaving the NFL to return to his native Australia despite phone calls from a horde of National Rugby League teams that would welcome him with open arms.
Hayne quit the rugby league to realize his ambition of playing in the NFL, signing with the 49ers in March. After an impressive preseason as a running back and special teams player, Hayne made the 49ers' 53-man roster for the start of the regular season.
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Hayne was waived by San Francisco in October before being re-signed to the 49ers' practice squad, fueling talk of a potential NRL comeback.
"I spoke to him (Thursday) afternoon," Wayne Beavis, Hayne's manager, told Rugby League Week. "The conversation about him coming home has never taken place. He told me he's definitely staying. That's it, end of story. There isn't a decision to make, that's what he's telling me."
The Penrith Panthers and Sydney Roosters have been linked to Hayne, a two-time winner of the Dally M Medal, the NRL's Player of the Year award, during his time with Parramatta Eels.
"Every club (in the NRL) is ringing me up saying if he comes home, we're interested," Beavis said. "That's only natural. It doesn't mean he's coming back."