NFL's 49ers open to more Aussie talent

With tens of millions of dollars to be made in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers are hoping to entice more Australian athletes.

The San Francisco 49ers love their Australian recruit Jarryd Hayne and are on the lookout for more rugby league, union, AFL and other athletes.

Head coach Jim Tomsula says the door to his office at the 49ers' base in Santa Clara, California, is open.

"Hey, if you have a lot of skill out there and you're somewhere else in the world and you can run fast, hit hard and can catch a ball, throw a ball or tackle, this is a place for you," Tomsula told reporters.

"Everybody come here."

Tomsula will likely be busy with guests.

Numerous elite NRL, union and AFL players were already pondering following in Hayne's footsteps before Hayne's inclusion on Saturday in the 49ers' 53-man roster.

Hayne also admitted he will receive a huge bump in pay after making the 53-man roster.

Tomsula was a coach in the NFL Europe league, so he has a long history of identifying athletes in other sports and training them into NFL players and he said the 49ers was the best NFL club for foreigners.

Tomsula's NFL Europe background is one of the main reasons he sat down with Hayne in the Santa Clara office late last year.

Tomsula was so bullish on Hayne the 49ers offered the un-tested Australian a $US100,000 guarantee to join their off-season program.

The two teams who were also in the hunt for Hayne, the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks, didn't offer him the guaranteed money.

Hayne went on to sign a three-year $US1.538 million ($A2.19 million) deal, with a base salary of $US435,000. ($A620,700).


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Source: AAP


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NFL's 49ers open to more Aussie talent | SBS News