Wide receiver Wes Welker and center Dan Koppen joined every New England State Treasurer, officials from the Jump$tart Coalition and Visa in the Patriots visitor locker room at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday to talk to high school students from across the region about the importance of fiscal literacy. To help teach the valuable financial lessons, the duo joined the students in playing "Financial Football," an NFL-themed, interactive, money management video game.
Developed in cooperation with the NFL and PLAYERS INC, "Financial Football" is designed to help students tackle their financial futures in a fun and engaging manner. It incorporates lessons taught through Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football), a free, award-winning, teacher-tested and approved money management program. The centerpiece of a national Visa/NFL financial education initiative, "Financial Football" is accompanied by a classroom curriculum and can also be downloaded for free on cell phones. The "Financial Football" program has already been rolled out statewide in West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin and Nevada.
For the third consecutive year, Visa USA, the NFL and PLAYERS INC have teamed up to engage high school students in a different kind of football game - one that prepares them to become fiscally fit adults. "Financial Football" is an animated, money management computer game and the centerpiece of a 15-city Visa/NFL initiative to promote youth financial literacy around the country. Each week of the 2007-2008 NFL season, NFL players work with high school students in their local markets, to provide basic financial literacy training using "Financial Football." The purpose of this campaign is to get students engaged and excited about their financial futures in a way that is both fun and interactive.
"Financial Football" combines the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. To score points, a player needs to answer money-related questions correctly. And, just like in the NFL, penalties can cost a team yardage. The player with the highest point total after four quarters wins the game. The game content, developed with the cooperation of the NFL and its players, incorporates lessons taught through Practical Money Skills for Life, Visa's free, award-winning money management program. "Financial Football" can be played online at www.practicalmoneyskills.com.
