Quicken Online Helps Gridiron Greats Get the Most of their Money
The last two weeks, Quicken Group Product Manager Jim Del Favero and I have been on the road talking to NFL players about the importance of watching their money. As part of a pilot program between the NFL Player Development office and Quicken Online, we’re visiting three NFL teams over the next three weeks to talk to rookies and veterans alike about keeping better tabs on their money.
We’ve been using the free Quicken Online as the tool that puts the power of personal finance right in the palm of their hand.
It may sound odd that we’re talking with a bunch of professional athletes about their money. After all, the average salary in the NFL is $350,000 per year and the league is full of millionaires who hire professional money managers and accountants. And what do they know about having to watch their money like most of us do from paycheck-to-paycheck? But, like the rest of us, they too need to watch their spending to they can live a comfortable and happy life.
Even with professionals watching their money, the fact is no one watches and cares about your finances as much as you do. Using the power of Quicken Online, and Quicken Online Mobile for the iPod Touch/iPhone, we’re giving these players a way to learn more about where their money is going.
Del Favero tells the players that scores of other trusted advisors – wives, friends, accountants – access their money so if they can just keep an eye on their transactions, then the players can ask the important questions about where their money is going.
He said he wants to empower the players to ask the right questions and that they have the right to know where their money is going. In fact, Del Favero told the Jets players if someone is resistant to tell them about where their money is going, they want to find a different advisor.
“This is your money and you have every right to ask questions about how it’s being spent or invested,” Del Favero said. “Using Quicken Online and our mobile application on the iPhone is really going to help these guys keep tabs on where their income is going so they can make good financial decisions now and in the future. Just being able to see all of their accounts and balances in one place is invaluable.”
Lance Legree, a former NFL player and leader for NFL Player Development in piloting the program, has two key objectives for the pilot with Quicken Online.
“First, we want to educate and build awareness amongst the players that this – and their money – doesn’t last forever,” Legree, who was a four-year starter at the University of Notre Dame before the NFL. “Second, we want these guys to have a great foundation in personal finance so they can do good things with the money they make in a relative short period of time in their working lives.”
Legree’s words ring true when you consider the average career in the NFL lasts just three to five seasons. That means the earning power of a pro athlete happens at the beginning of their career while the rest of us reach the pinnacle of our money earning years in our late 30s to mid-40s.
This is why we’re out here talking to the New York Jets this week. The idea is to give these guys a simple tool to just understand the basics.
Last week in Tampa with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the program was a huge success. Once players see how easy Quicken Online and it’s mobile counterpart are to use, they are instantly hooked.
“We’re just really excited to be working with Quicken Online on this important project,” Legree said. “When people think of the best in professional sports, they think of the NFL. When people think who is the best at personal finance, they think Quicken. The two of us working together is really going to help make a difference and help a whole group of young men better manage their money.”
Tags: New York Jets, NFL | Categories: Feature, Quicken Online |
