Dallas Cowboys' Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, Chicago Bears' Matt Forte and Lance Briggs Kick off Super Bowl XLV Week with a Game of 'Financial Football'

DALLAS, Jan. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  Visa Inc., the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, running backs Felix Jones and Tashard Choice of the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears wide receiver Matt Forte as well as Bears linebacker Lance Briggs kicked off Super Bowl XLV week today by playing a different type of football – "Financial Football."  Together, they showcased an effort to improve the money management skills of Texas teenagers by playing a lively game of "Financial Football," an interactive money management video game with an NFL theme.

The centerpiece of Visa's nationwide educational initiative with the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, "Financial Football" puts students' fiscal knowledge to the test 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 free game is available online at www.practicalmoneyskills.com/football.  Visa also released the game as a free iPhone app on iTunes, along with an optimized HD iPad version.

Jones, Choice, Forte, Briggs and Visa officials gathered to spotlight the game today at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel & Conference Center.  The NFL PLAYERS shared their personal experiences on the importance of money management with students from Macarthur High School and Pearland High School. All four NFL PLAYERS 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 Felix Jones.  "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 Matt Forte.  "If you don't learn to budget, save, invest and pay bills on time, the consequences can be overwhelming."

This launch is part of a national educational campaign with Visa, the NFL and NFL PLAYERS, now in its sixth season.  Since 2006, Visa has reached agreements with twenty-nine states, including Texas, to distribute the "Financial Football" game to public high schools statewide for free.  The other states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

"For over a decade, Visa has been committed to promoting financial literacy and we are proud to have Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, Matt Forte and Lance Briggs with us as we work to promote the importance of financial education," said Nancy Panter, Manager of Corporate Relations, Visa Inc.  

"Financial Football" is part of Practical Money Skills for Life (www.practicalmoneyskills.com) a free, award-winning financial education program that reaches millions of people around the world each year. Launched in 1995, the program is now available in ten languages in more than thirty countries.  At Practical Money Skills for Life, educators, parents and students can access free educational resources including personal finance articles, games, lesson plans, and more.  Visa also runs What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a leading higher education consumer awareness program.

About Visa Inc.

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com. Corporate

SOURCE Visa Inc.