NFL players took off their pads to play a different kind of football—_Financial Football—_with local Houston students during Super Bowl LI weekend. Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing and Carolina Panthers Pro-Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis teamed up to coach a group of students on how to manage their money, using a fun video game developed by the NFL and Visa. The Financial Football event, held in the Super Bowl LI Media Center in Houston, was part of an effort to put the fun in finances for kids across in Texas.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a professional athlete or student with a part-time job, the same financial principles apply,” said Davis, Panthers’ linebacker, two-time Pro Bowler and 2014 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. “If students come away learning even just one new thing about budgeting, saving and investing, then the day was a success.”
Financial Football is the foundation for Visa’s nationwide financial education initiative with the NFL and NFL Players Association. The game uses the rules of football to challenge students’ knowledge of finances in a fun online gaming environment. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, BBVA Compass and the Texas Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy joined Visa to help expand the Financial Football program in schools across Texas. Game DVDs, including teaching resources, will be provided to Every high school and middle school in the state as well as various community organizations will score the Financial Football game DVDs, including teaching resources. Texans can find more resources at www.texas.financialfootball.com.
Through partnerships with state and federal-elected officials, Visa and financial institutions distribute the Financial Football program to every public high school and middle school in 49 states and the District of Columbia—that’s free copies of the game to nearly 30,000 schools nationwide. The game is part of Visa’s Practical Money Skills for Life, a free, comprehensive financial literacy program available in 16 languages and 42 countries.
