The Washington Redskins 2016 rookies on Friday went through a financial management crash course with Kenmoor Middle School students at Junior Achievement's Finance Park.
The Washington Redskins 2016 rookies got a lesson in the importance of budgeting Friday afternoon, as they joined forces with eighth graders at Kenmoor Middle School at Junior Achievement's Finance Park in Hyattsville, Md.
The Redskins Rookies visited Finance Park for an in-person financial literacy simulation with 8th grade students from Kenmoor Middle School.
The Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation is a proud partner of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington and a supporter of Finance Park, located just a stone's throw from FedExField.
While more than 9,000 Prince George's County Public Schools students go through the financial management program in the classroom each year, the Redskins rookies and Kenmoor Middle School students utilized a modified version of the program for a crash course in financial literacy.
Roles were reversed as student graduates of the program became teachers, and paired up with rookies to help them navigate through different scenarios based on a unique career, salary and life situation.
The groups started with laying out a monthly budget before tackling required payments and shopping needs.
The lesson was reinforcement for messaging the rookies heard only hours earlier in an introductory session on financial management through their rookie transition program, hosted by the team.
For third-round pick Kendall Fuller, he was a physical education teacher with a wife and a young child.
He had to figure out financially how to get by with an income of $3,100 per month while supporting his family.
"The program just shows you all the stuff you need to know," Fuller said. "Things you have to pay bills for, all the money you have to make sure you have saved up for different things and how to save up for the future. Little things like that."
The simulation touched close to Fuller's current situation.
Despite signing his first contract with the Redskins just one day prior, he's still in the process of uprooting from Virginia Tech to the Washington, D.C., area.
"Lately I have been looking for an apartment," Fuller said. "So having those things in my life just right now and seeing those things in the activity were kind of exciting."
Linebacker Ejiro Ederaine was given the occupation of a fitness trainer, making less than $20,000 a year.
Ederaine joked about spending too much money at first before budgeting correctly, but admitted he wished he had a similar program growing up that would have taught him how to spend money wisely.
"You guys really have a step up above other kids," Ederaine said when speaking to the group of students at the conclusion of the training. "I'm from California and we don't have any of that back in my home state. So just know to take advantage of the opportunities, and you all are doing something special here."
As he transitions from Georgia to the Redskins after being selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, Keith Marshall said the experience was important to ensure strong financial management both now and in the long run.
"It was cool just to see the difference for what areas you need to budget for," Marshall said. "What the prices are that need to be paid in those different categories when you're an adult."
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