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| Jarryd Hayne stands alone. |
The media in the last few weeks has been awash with
articles wondering who will be the next Rugby League star to make the jump to
the NFL.
Swarms of NFL talent scouts are reportedly on their way to
our shores to rip our talent away.
But just who will be the next man to don the helmet and
shoulder pads you ask?
The answer - Nobody.
That’s not to say our NRL stars don’t have the physical attributes
to make the grade, but it’s the intangibles that make the difference.
Jarryd Hayne is a rare breed, for a variety of reasons.
Having worked with professional players at high profile
sporting organisations I was constantly baffled at how they see their careers.
No one really cares about their legacy. At the end of the
day it’s about how much they can make from their careers and everything else is
a bonus from there.
That’s the nature of the beast and in a way you understand
it. Professional sport stars are assets who depreciate over time and it’s about
maximising return in a small window.
They play a highly physical sport that replicates a car
crash multiple times each game day. With every week, miles come off the clock,
and with some, as we’ve seen recently; careers can vanish in a heartbeat.
I understand the need for financial security to be important,
but sometimes you wish ambition was higher on the agenda.
Ambition is what has fuelled Hayne’s quest for an NFL dream.
Sure he has come from a solid financial base, he’s made good money in his NRL
career so far, but it can be argued that he’s left just when he was really
ready to cash in.
Not to mention the fact that he turned his back on more
common destinations beyond the NRL, such as Japanese or European Rugby, which
present higher financial returns than the NRL and at considerably less risk than the National
Football League.
Hayne had an ambition to leave a legacy, something he wasn’t
prepared to trade for money and that is unique.
He’s on a guaranteed contract of just $100,000, which will
become around $400,000 should he make the San
Francisco 49ers 53 man roster.
It’s expected his income will jump considerably through
endorsements if and when he makes the final roster, given the NFL doesn’t have
limitations on third party sponsors like the NRL, but his income, at least
initially, still wont dwarf his NRL contract.
It’s a significant risk to lay it all on the line, with the
odds firmly stacked against you.
There are plenty of hurdles to jump in the NFL before you’re
even on parity with what you’re already making in the NRL. It’s quite apt that
Jarryd Hayne was a champion hurdler in his youth, because he’s made the task
look easy.
He doesn’t fear the big occasion, in fact he lives for it.
Professional sport stars fall in one of two categories. Some react to pressure like ‘deer in
the headlights’, others aren’t fazed by anything.
All the greats have that special something which blurs the
line between confidence and arrogance - Ronaldo, LeBron , Jordan
All have a cocky swagger and a self belief that tells them
‘nobody is better’.
Jarryd Hayne is that player and you can change the posts,
the uniform, the rules and the shape of the football, but he’ll still find a
way to compete and succeed.
We saw that on his State of Origin debut or in his youth at the
Parramatta Eels when he was thrown into a one-on-one session with World
Champion boxer Danny Green to ‘test his character’.
In all conquests Hayne showed no fear and it’s that approach
that has won him so many admirers so far on his NFL journey.
As someone who worked closely with Israel Folau during his
stint with the Greater Western Sydney GIANTS, I’ve witnessed a great athlete
try to learn a new sport.
Folau is a special athlete, the rarest breed. But he did not
have a passion for AFL. Israel
worked hard, he wanted to succeed, but deep down it just wasn’t in him.
Jarryd Hayne has a love for the NFL. He immersed himself in
the game long before he made the decision to make it his occupation. Whether
that was watching every game of every round, playing Madden on XBOX, forming a
friendship with Reggie Bush or having secret training sessions with UTS – he
made it his life.
No one else in the NRL would be willing to take the risk
Jarryd Hayne has.
They are too financially secure, they lack the self belief, they
lack a true passion for the game or they simply let fear get in the way.
Jarryd Hayne is a one of a kind specimen. Forged in working
class roots, with assets you cannot teach or replicate.
Will another talent of similar ilk emerge from the Rugby
League world?
I would say it is highly unlikely.
The Hayne Plane will fly the flag alone, quite simply because
he is the only one who can.
ADAM SANTAROSSA
