AS ONE of Australia’s most recognised football players, he had it all. But NRL star Jarryd Hayne gave up fame and fortune to chase what seemed like an impossible dream.

In an exclusive behind-the-scenes interview with 60 Minutes, Hayne has revealed the rollercoaster ride of his time at the San Franciso 49ers in the National Football League in the US and what drove him to make the biggest sacrifice of his career.

He also told of the heart-stopping moment he fumbled the ball in his first game with the 49ers, describing it as “disappointing”.

“But you’ve just got to say, ‘This is the cards I’ve been dealt and, you know, let’s get through it.’”

The Paramatta Eels legend walked away from $1.5 million a year to have a crack at the NFL — despite not knowing if he would be good enough.

Amazingly, he admitted he didn’t know the rules and bought his first American football when he landed at Los Angeles Airport in October 2014.

media_camera NRL legend Jarryd Hayne walked away from $1.5 million a year to have a crack at the NFL.

He also revealed he had to keep a “cheat sheet” of NFL rules in his girdle to refer to while training — much to the amusement of 49ers star quarterback Colin Kapernick.

Hayne told 60 Minutes: “I couldn’t remember it off by heart, because there was just so much to intake. So what I ended up doing was actually that piece of paper that I wrote all the plays on, put it in my pants.

“I kind of got tired of asking the quarterback what to do, I felt bad, so I kind of had my own cheat sheet. Say it again? OK, OK.”

When asked by interviewer Karl Stefanovic why he made the shock decision to leave Australia — despite having no agent, no job, not even a place to stay — Hayne said it was about “being on an adventure”.

“I’m not normal, you know? But you’re exactly right, you know what I mean? I think the world in general, that’s what the world thinks life is about — to be successful and to have a big house and have a nice car,” Hayne said.

media_camera Hayne takes 60 Minutes to Minto, the suburb where he grew up.

“But you know, for me it’s about, you know, being on an adventure, finding out who you are, and pushing and growing as a person.”

Hayne, who is famously loyal to his family, told 60 Minutes how rugby league was his “oxygen” when he was growing up in Minto, a housing commission suburb in Sydney’s southwest.

“I remember walking through here one time, I was just like, ‘Man, this is shit, man, you know? Why am I here?’

“You know what I mean? This makes no sense. So I remember being, you know, real pissed off one time. I was like, you know, ‘I hate this life.’”

It was a tough upbringing, but guided by his mother Jodie, a single mum, his local oval became a haven.

“It was a motivator as well. I wouldn’t have been the athlete I am today, I wouldn’t have been as good, wouldn’t have been as talented, if I didn’t come through here.

“I always wanted to get out of the area, you know what I mean? Just want to give Mum, you know, a house and I think, you know, for me, the only way I could do that was rugby league. So, you know, rugby league became my everything, it became my oxygen. Because I knew I didn’t have anything else.”

media_camera The Hayne Plane teaches interviewer Karl Stefanovic all the right moves.

One thing his time in the US has taught him, says Hayne, is the importance of head gear — an issue he now feels strongly about.

“I got hit in the head all the time when I was younger,” he told 60 Minutes. “That could be a really good thing, putting the kids in headgear.

Just being that extra cautious and being safe. Because I think these days the athletes and the way that we’re able to I guess develop our bodies in being faster, stronger, fitter, you know, the impact is getting a lot harder.”

Mum Jodie said she was initially shocked by his decision to jump codes, but backed him all the way.

Despite knowing little about the game when he arrived in the US, Hayne made up for it through hard work.

The day after Hayne landed in LA, he had to go to a shop to buy an absolute necessity of the game — an NFL ball.

“You can try and dress it up as much as you want, but that’s exactly what it was. You know, we landed and it was, “Let’s get a football, let’s go to the park, run around.”

“And it’s a different kind of adrenaline. It’s a rush I’ve never had before. You know, there’s fears, anxieties, there’s questioning, there’s “Where are we going to sleep?”

media_camera Jarryd Hayne's mum Jodie with his sisters, Taygan and Jessi-Lee, has been his constant motivator.

After wowing the NFL world during his pre-season debut with the San Francisco 49ers, Hayne was waiting to hear if he had made the final team, supported by his mother and sisters, who had flown to the US to support him.

Jodie Hayne told 60 Minutes: “I couldn’t believe how much anxiety I had. Mate, I was sweating. I couldn’t sit still. The three kids are sitting still on the phone. I’m pacing up and down. I thought, ‘Oh, my god, put me out of my misery.’”

Despite a promising start, Hayne was dropped by the 49ers. Next week he returns to the US to start training with the team again in the hope he is chosen to play another season.

“I’m taking myself on the craziest adventure that I can,” Hayne told 60 Minutes. “And I want to keep evolving and I want to keep pushing myself, and I don’t ever want to be comfortable, and I don’t ever want to be in a position where I’m just doing it for the sake of doing it. I could be anywhere next year. Who knows?”

Originally published as ‘It’s a rush I’ve never had before’