49ers officially sign Jarryd Hayne to 3-year contract

The San Francisco 49ers have made it official. The team announced Tuesday afternoon that they have signed Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne to a three-year contract.

The signing would seem to indicate this is more than just a reserve/future contract as we all speculated yesterday. Hayne mentioned on Monday that he received $100,000 guaranteed. My guess is that includes some portion of signing bonus, which will thus be pro-rated over three seasons. More than likely the contract is for three years at the league minimum each season, but we'll find out once the NFLPA posts the base salary information to their database.

Earlier today, I took part in a radio interview with a station in New Zealand. Just click on the link below to listen. I spent the early portion explaining how a reserve/future contract works. Given that this would seem to be a normal contract, the beginning of the interview is not entirely relevant.

It still is somewhat because contracts are not guaranteed, so Hayne is still not guaranteed anything more than just a shot. It would be nice to see him earn a roster spot, but I'd say best case right now is practice squad. This is based on nothing more than the fact that he has never played professional American football. It is possible his skillset and natural talent will make it an easier transition, but for now, it's best not to get our hopes up.

New Zealand interview