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Super Bowl XLIII Week Kicks Off with a Game of "Financial Football"


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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Warrick Dunn and New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees Join Florida Chief Financial Officer and Visa to Launch the Statewide Distribution of a Money Management Computer Game for Students

Visa Inc., Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the NFL, PLAYERS INC, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Warrick Dunn, and New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees kicked off Super Bowl XLIII week today by playing a different type of football - “Financial Football.” Together they announced an effort to improve the money management skills of Florida teenagers by distributing free copies of “Financial Football,” an NFL-themed, interactive, money management video game, to every high school and public library in the state.

The centerpiece of Visa’s nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and PLAYERS INC, “Financial Football” helps students tackle their financial futures. This computer-based game is accompanied by a classroom curriculum and can also be downloaded for free on cell phones.

CFO Sink, Warrick Dunn, Drew Brees and Visa officials gathered to launch Florida’s new financial literacy campaign today at the Tampa Convention Center. Dunn and Brees shared their personal experiences on the importance of money management with students from Armwood High School. Dunn and Brees then rolled up their sleeves and coached student teams through a lively game of “Financial Football.”

“High school kids need to know how to make smart money management decisions before heading off to college or entering the workforce,” said Dunn. “It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers, and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you make minimum wage or millions,” added Brees. “If you don’t learn to budget, save, invest and pay bills on time, the consequences can be devastating.”

“This financial education initiative provides a winning playbook for students’ financial future. Students retain these life-long lessons because they’re being entertained while they’re being educated,” said CFO Sink. “Financial Football is a great start for high school or college students who need to learn the basics of money management.”

Demonstrating broad-based support for having financial education begin at home and extend to the classroom, a recent study released by Visa shows 91% of consumers surveyed believe all high school students should take a financial education class before graduating.

Visa and CFO Sink hope “Financial Football” can help Florida teens do just that. Available online at www.florida.financialfootball.com, “Financial Football” puts students’ fiscal knowledge to the test in an online simulation game environment by combining the structure and rules of the NFL with financial education questions of varying difficulty. To score points, a team needs to answer a series of money management questions correctly. Wrong answers and penalties can cost a team yardage. The team with the highest point total after four quarters wins the game.

Today’s Super Bowl event is the twentieth stop of this year’s national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and PLAYERS INC. Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with several states, including Florida, to distribute the “Financial Football” game to high schools and public libraries. The other states are: West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wisconsin, Nevada, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Kentucky, and Vermont.

The online version of “Financial Football” has been downloaded more than 200,000 times and in 2007, “Financial Football” became a free, first-of-its-kind cell phone game. Mobile customers can play the game on their cell phones by texting the word VISA to 24421.

“For over a decade, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to have Warrick Dunn and Drew Brees with us as we assist CFO Sink in her efforts to strengthen financial education efforts throughout Florida,” said Nancy Panter, Manager of Global Public Relations, Visa Inc.

“Financial Football” is part of Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com), a free, award-winning, teacher-tested and teacher-approved financial education program that is available in English, Spanish and Chinese. The program contains three comprehensive sections, complete with money management resources and lesson plans tailored for use at home, in the classroom or at work. It also contains an array of tips to help prepare for life changing financial events, from planning for a baby to saving for college and retirement, as well as a number of other budget calculators and interactive games. Visa also runs What’s My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program. The website guides college students through the ABC’s of a FICO credit score, from factors that can lower a score to ways on improving it, at no charge.

About Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
As Florida’s CFO, Sink oversees the Department of Financial Services, which is responsible for assisting consumers who need information and help related to financial services, including banking, securities and insurance. In addition, the department keeps track of all money coming into and going out of state government.



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