Football game teaches students money management

CAYCE — A computer game designed to help educate high school students about personal finance was introduced in South Carolina on Friday.

State Treasurer Converse Chellis and Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams unveiled the “Financial Football” game at a Columbia area high school.

The NFL-themed interactive game is being distributed to every public high school in the state.

“It’s amazing what high school seniors don’t know about credit scores and banking and checking and things like that, so it definitely is an awareness that we need to raise and this will be a big part of it,” said Scott Newman, principal of Brookland Cayce High School in Cayce.

“What’s exciting about this is we’re getting kids involved in financial literacy,” Chellis said. “It’s a football game. Everybody loves football and it’s not about what the score is in high school football, it’s what your credit score is about.”

The game uses trivia questions concerning financial matters to help teach students how to manage their money wisely.

“It’s important for them to understand the terms that they’re dealing with, whether it’s a balloon payment or simple interest or an APR, which is annual percentage rate. So, these are the types of terms they’ll hear when they go out to buy a car or have a mortgage,” Chellis said.

Williams told students to be cautious with their money and to begin saving at an early age.

“We just try to talk to them and let them know that we’re not all going to live forever, but the short period that we do live, we want to have money while we’re doing it, so to save your money early,” he said. “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

The five-year NFL veteran said no one really discussed the importance of saving when he was in high school.

“It’s the reoccurring bills that get a lot of people (in trouble). You know they go out and they get houses and they get cars and they get all this other stuff and don’t think about the bills that they’ve created for themselves,” Williams said.

Chellis said he encourages young people to become accustomed to saving five to 10 percent of what they earn.

“The key to it is learning how to discipline yourself early and making those decisions when you first get started,” he said.

Financial Football was developed by Visa Inc. through their sponsorship of the NFL. The game has been introduced in 26 states across the country over the last five years.

“We really want to make sure people of all ages learn how to manage their money wisely,” said Jason Alderman, director of financial education for Visa. “We know that people love video games (and) we know they love the NFL, so by taking the people’s interest and love of the game and combining it with personal finance, it’s really a fun way to learn.”

Educators said they plan to begin using the game as a teaching tool in the classroom.

“Our economic classes are going to be using it next year. We’re going to devise a curriculum around this,” Newman said. “A lot of great terms are being reviewed and a lot of great strategies. I see it as a win-win for everybody.”

Officials also said they hope the starpower of an athlete like Williams will give the message more meaning to students.

“It definitely touches them in a different way, because they’re used to seeing me in football pads and a helmet and talking about football,” Williams said. “Any time I can help kids out, especially when it’s dealing with saving money, you know I’m all for it.”

The game can also be played online at southcarolina.financialfootball.com.