American footballer makes Leeds Rhinos claim with deal ‘on the table’

An American football player is claiming he has been offered a deal to join Leeds Rhinos after taking up rugby league.

Cyrus Habibi-Likio is a running back who reached a relatively high level in American football, playing with the University of Oregon and Boise State and in 2022, he was invited to try out with NFL giants San Francisco 49ers.

However, he has recently started playing rugby league, with his interest in the game stemming from the NRL’s trip to Las Vegas earlier this year. The running back, who has over 9,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, says he was invited to play a game in the build-up to the showpiece event at the Allegiant Stadium before being approached by the agency Pacific Sports Management.

He has since signed with the agency, which boasts a portfolio of athletes that includes Valentine Holmes, Jahrome Hughes, Jason Taumalolo and Leeds’ Brodie Croft, and Habibi-Likio is now claiming he has a deal ‘on the table’ with the Super League side.

“It all started in March when the NRL came from Australia to play in Las Vegas,” he said in a video posted on social media on July 26. “They had a tournament a few days before and I was asked to play in it. For all those who know me, I’m a football player, I’ve been playing football my entire life but I decided to try rugby league for the first time ever.

“I showed up, decided to play and did really well in my first game. As I was playing I got pulled to the side by an Australian agency called PSM. Apparently they were impressed with the way I was playing and told me to meet up with them.

“We talked about some contracts, what rugby league is, but this is all new to me. I just know how to get the ball and score touchdowns but in rugby league, they call them tries.

“I ended up signing with that agency and after that’s done, they go back to Australia. A few weeks later they hit me up saying there’s a professional contract to the Super League in England, and that team is the Leeds Rhinos. A very well-known team with rich history and culture. So right now, that’s my contract on the table and it looks like we’re going to England.”

Whether Habibi-Likio will join the Rhinos following his claim remains to be seen.