NFL rookie and former rugby sensation Jarryd Hayne together with the San Francisco 49ers are reportedly part of a venture that will feature two games which will be held in New Zealand.
According to the Sunday Star Times, the games will take place early next year and Hayne will be one of the highlights of the event.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the games will be held at Eden Park in Auckland and Wellington Regional Stadium.
The event which was almost four years in the making will be dubbed as the Southern Bowl with the confirmation of it expected to take place this week.
Stuff.co.nz reported that the exhibition will feature six franchises including the 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.
Meanwhile, reports said the players participating in the following games are the ones that did not make it to their team's final 53-man roster.
The Daily Telegraph cited players like 49ers' Hayne, Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis and Cardinals linebacker LaMarr Woodley as players falling into the said category.
The report also states that there will be two high-profile coaches that will be building their squads with the players that failed to make the cut this July and will likely announce their final lineup for the exhibitions this September.
But according to a report from NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk, the NFL denied playing games in New Zealand.
"We have a growing number of passionate fans in New Zealand, but at this time we have no plans to play NFL games there," NFL spokesman Michael Signora said through email according to NBC Sports.
NBC Sports cleared that the Sunday Star Times did not report an NFL game that will take place in New Zealand.
Instead the report stated that players which were not hired by NFL teams will be the ones likely participating in the games.
