Contact: Jim Hedemark, Executive Director
RI Jump$tart Coalition
401.385.9411| email

New Super Bowl Tradition:
Family, Friends, Food and Financial Football

Visa Inc., NFL, Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio and RI Jump$tart Coalition promote teachable money moments around big game

With Super Bowl XLIV this weekend, Visa Inc., the NFL, General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, and the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition are encouraging families and friends to add the free “financial football” web-based video game to party activities as a fun way to promote money management discussions in Rhode Island homes.

A direct link to “financial football” can be found by clicking here.  The game, tailored for high school and college students, is fun for football fans of all ages and allows players to pass, run and score touchdowns as a reward for answering personal finance questions correctly.

“High school kids need to know how to make smart money management decisions before heading off to college or entering the workforce,” said Drew Brees, Quarterback for the Super Bowl XLIV bound New Orleans Saints.  “It takes the combined efforts of parents, teachers and mentors within the community to give teenagers a strong background in personal finance.”  Click here for more from Brees.

Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio agreed with Brees and added; “I have enjoyed playing financial football with my family, friends and high school students around the Ocean State.  This game is a winner, both in terms of fun and financial education.”

Charles Kelley, executive director of the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, founder of the College Planning Center of RI, and RI Jump$tart Coalition president, said, “I am very appreciative of Mr. Brees’ support of high school financial education.  He certainly understands that a game plan is critical not only on the field, but in all of our financial lives.”

This weekend, Americans will not only be spending time together, they will also be spending money to throw parties. 

“The Super Bowl is a great excuse to throw a party, but it’s important not to commit a financial fumble by overspending on it,” said Jason Alderman, Visa’s director of financial education.  “The key play to make your Super Bowl party a financial success is to create a budget and stick to it.” 

A recent Visa Inc. survey finds that the average consumer hosting a Super Bowl party plans on spending $144 on food, beverage and other items.  This same survey also found a wide distribution of spending with 35 percent spending between $50 and $100, 32 percent spending between $101 and $250, 23 percent spending $50 or less and 10 percent spending over $250.

Additional findings of the Visa survey include:

· Men plan on spending, on average, $158 to host their Super Bowl party compared to $129 for women. 

· Younger fans (18-34 years old) plan on spending $154, ten dollars more than those in the middle age group (35-54 years old), and $37 more than those 55 years old and over.

Jim Hedemark, executive director of the RI Jump$tart Coalition, adds, “Experts in family financial matters tell us that any opportunity to include children in financial decisions can have a profound and long-lasting impact on their future financial behavior.  While planning and purchasing for this weekend’s parties, parents can include their kids the budget formation, have them help in hunting for bargains, and of course, play a few games of financial football together.”

Above:  Patriots receiver Wes Welker, RI General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, and students from Portsmouth High School in the New England Patriots Locker-Room during the 2007 Launch of Financial Football

Financial Football Launched in 2007
Visa Inc., New England state treasurers, and regional Jump$tart Coalitions launched Financial Football with the help of New England Patriots players, Wes Welker and Dan Koppen in December of 2007.Speaking in their locker-room to classes of high school students from each New England state, the players shared:

"Helping students build strong financial muscles at an early age will give them a real advantage when it comes to planning for their financial futures," Welker said.  He continued, "Managing money and finances is a vital life skill, and one that is best taught, and learned, before high school graduation."

"I'm glad for the opportunity to teach New England students the importance of developing sound money-management skills early in life," Koppen added. "It doesn't matter whether you make $1 or $1 million, if you don't learn to budget, save, invest and pay your bills on time, the personal and national economic consequences can be devastating."

About Financial Football
Visa Inc. and the National Football League have teamed up to help teach financial concepts with Financial Football, a fast-paced, interactive game that engages students while teaching them money management skills. Teams compete by answering financial questions to earn yardage and score touchdowns.

About the RI Jump$tart Coalition
The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition, incorporated and affiliated with the national Jump$tart Coalition in 2004, is a nonprofit organization of youth financial literacy advocates from academic, business, civic, and nonprofit sectors.