With those words to Parramatta chief executive Scott Seward at 2pm on Tuesday, Jarryd Hayne ignited what may become one of the biggest stories in the history of rugby league and one that has already exposed the game to new audiences in the US.

Other big name NRL players, such as Sonny Bill Williams, Israel Folau and Anthony Mundine, have left to become even bigger stars in rugby union or boxing, while the likes of Darren Bennett, Sav Rocca and Ben Graham became punters in the NFL after finishing their AFL careers.

But no one has done what Hayne is attempting, which is to take on Americans at their own game in a country where few Australians have succeeded even in more traditional sports such as tennis, golf and boxing.

While many believe the odds are against Hayne, Baltimore Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta indicated the 2013 Super Bowl champions may be prepared to consider him.

"We beat every bush looking for players," DeCosta told Fairfax Media. "We look internationally and if we find an athlete with the passion and an NFL skill set, we'll go after him."

Hayne, two-time NRL player of the year and a star of the code, had spoken several times about wanting to play NFL, including in interviews with Fairfax Media during this year's State of Origin, in which he revealed he had been training as a wide receiver and a safety with the UTS American Football team.

He also admired how athletes in American sports could become "global brands", whereas NRL players did not control their own intellectual property rights.

But until Hayne walked into Seward's office with his agent Wayne Beavis last Tuesday, no one seriously believed he would walk away from the remaining year of his contract and a potential new deal that could have made him the highest paid player in the NRL, to switch to NFL.

"I knew I was meeting with Wayne but I didn't know I was meeting with Jarryd, so when he came in I must admit I had no idea what it was actually about," Seward said.

"He just said 'I need to tell you and I want to tell you face-to-face that I am done, I don't want to play any more, I want to give the NFL a go.' It was certainly a shock but he was very passionate about what he was talking about and he said 'I've just got to live a dream, I have just got to do it'."

Within 24 hours, news of Hayne's bold attempt to make it in the NFL was creating headlines around the world after he fronted a news conference at 11am on Wednesday and posted a letter to Eels fans on the club's website.

So big was the story that the same site, parraeels.com.au, crashed on Thursday night and again on Friday morning – presumably because of the number of people accessing video footage of Hayne's career highlights.

In the US, Hayne's bombshell announcement was reported on the official NFL website, along with a video comparing rugby league to American football and making comparisons between Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush and both Hayne and Greg Inglis – the other NRL star considered most likely to make it if he switched codes.

The website of the Seattle Seahawks, who had hosted Hayne on a recent study trip funded by Parramatta, also carried an 11-minute long highlights package of his stunning career with the Eels, NSW and Australia, and head coach Pete Carroll described him as an "incredible athlete" after being quizzed about the 26-year-old at a post-training news conference.

Despite suggestions Carroll didn't know who Hayne was, he had been prepared to answer questions about him and spoke in depth about the qualities of NRL players.

Hayne's prospects of making it were also being debated on leading US sporting websites and television panel shows dedicated to the NFL.

"The guy is a fantastic runner with the ball in his hand," ESPN's Seahawks reporter Terry Blount said of what he had seen of Hayne in action for the Eels. "He looked a little Marshawn Lynch like actually, he looked like the 'Beast Mode' Down Under kind of thing so he is quite a successful athlete.

"He is very fast and he is serious about getting a chance with some NFL team. Whether that comes to pass or not I don't know but it wouldn't stun me if come training camp next summer they bring the guy in and give him a look to see what kind of an athlete the guy really is. Certainly he could do the job as a gunner or punt returner and be just a good special teams player."

If he succeeds, Hayne will effectively become an ambassador for the NRL and the Eels as Americans will want to know more about the game and club that produced him.

But even if he doesn't and decides to return to Parramatta for the 2016 season, he has already generated publicity in the US that the NRL could not have imagined.

"If you look at the amount of traffic we have had through our website and on Twitter and Facebook, but even mainstream media both here and over there, for Jarryd Hayne to be mentioned on the NFL website means it is obviously a big story that has been picked up around the world," Seward said.

"I was watching ESPN and on SportsCenter there was footage of Jarryd Hayne playing in an Eels jersey so it can't be a bad thing, if I put my selfish club hat on, for our brand to be seen by 330 million sets of eyeballs in the USA.

"It is also positive for us that the first player to have a red hot crack at going over there to play comes from our club and is a favourite son now, and will continue to be. While we would much prefer him running around Pirtek Stadium next year, he won't be abandoned by this football club and we will support him all the way.

"As far as we are concerned, he is still a part of this football club. He has only got to pick the phone up and ask us if he needs a hand. He will always be a part of this football club and any way we can support him and assist him to realise his dream we will do that."