Visa, the official payment services partner of the NFL, launched a Financial Football video game for the 2018-2019 NFL season. The free video game lets fans ages 11 and up select a player from their favorite NFL teams and play a virtual game of football while learning about smart money management.
Research shows one in five teenage students in the U.S. lacks basic financial skills. As new payment methods such as mobile payments, contactless cards and wearables become more prevalent, it underscores the need for financial literacy starting at an early age and continuing into adulthood.
Financial Football, available in both English and Spanish, challenges players to answer multiple choice and true or false questions to advance down the field in order to score a touchdown. In addition to improved 3-D graphics, the game’s new features include:
- Single player and head-to-head games
- Three different levels of difficulty: Rookie (ages 11-14), Pro (ages 14-18), and Hall of Fame (ages 18+)
- Expanded categories such as budgeting, saving, financial institutions, credit, debt, identity theft, and life events
- The ability to play both offense and defense. Players can select from more than 40 offensive plays, as well as the ability to stop their opponents from advancing by answering a defensive question correctly.
The game is available through iOS and Android apps and online. Visa joined with 49 state governments and the District of Columbia to distribute copies of the game to middle and high schools.
To officially launch the game, Giants players Eli Manning and Saquon Barkley hosted more than 100 high school students at MetLife Stadium. The two players coached the head-to-head game competition and led students through skills and drill activities focused on financial education categories.
