But he stands to earn a further $US327,900 in his first year if he can earn a spot on the 53-man roster announced at the end of August. While contract figures are not disclosed in the NRL, the details of Hayne's contract have been outlined on the NFL Players Association website. His base salary for his rookie season is $US435,000, increasing in his second year to $US525,000 and $US615,000 in his third year. It's far less than the million plus dollars a year he would have earnt had he remained in the NRL, but the former Parramatta superstar never cited financial gain as his reason for chasing an NFL contract. Hayne enjoyed a farewell with friends on the central coast at the weekend and is expected to fly over to the United States next week to recommence individual training ahead of his first day at the 49ers on April 6.

Hayne's 40-yard dash time of 4.53 seconds would have been the equal sixth best time amongst the running backs at last month's NFL combine. Fairfax Media has been told Hayne also registered a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.29 seconds at his pro day in San Diego in December. The 20-yard shuttle is used to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. Hayne's time was just 0.01 seconds outside the top 15 performing running backs at the NFL combine. The drill requires a player to run for five yards then change in the opposite direction, run 10 yards and go back the same way before another five yard sprint in the other direction.

Hayne is being groomed as a running back, a position the 49ers' have now lost some depth in with starting running back Frank Gore set to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles later this week. It is believed Gore, who has been at the 49ers for the past decade, will sign a three-year deal in which $US7.5 million in the first two years is guaranteed. Hayne first flew over to the United States with former Eels trainer Hayden Knowles and close friend Ray Roumanous. Roumanous said Hayne's commitment and dedication was like nothing he'd previously witnessed. "I just wanted to see how he prepares himself and from day one it was just intensity the whole time and it was at level 10 the whole time," Roumanous said.

"For the first week, I'd see him lying on the floor reading up on his notes. I was asking myself 'what's he doing lying on the floor not on the bed', but I didn't know he had two golf balls under his back and massaging himself while he was studying. That's how it was, in down time, while he was learning, he was still working on his body. "There were critics because they were uneducated and no one knew him. That was a good thing because it was backs against the wall. He quickly proved that he wasn't there for a holiday, but because he believed he could match it with the best."