Students ask Christian McCaffrey about his first $1 million check
At Intuit’s Super Bowl Week Financial Literacy Forum, the 49ers star explained why he didn’t “even look at managing money” and instead focused on learning how to manage money.
Bay Area students were told they would be attending a conference on financial literacy. They never expected to meet Christian McCaffrey, the entrepreneur, record-setting running back for the San Francisco 49ers and 2023 Offensive Player of the Year.
Inside the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, hundreds of students filled the ballroom for an Intuit for Education event as part of the brand’s efforts during Super Bowl week to increase financial literacy. When McCaffrey took the stage, the crowd roared.
The phone rang and the noise sounded like a touchdown at a home game at Levi’s Stadium.
But once the cheers died down, the 49ers star turned his attention to why they were all together. It was about learning about money before the most important things.
Interviewed by Greg Johnson, Intuit’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, McCaffrey began telling students he wished a program like this had existed when he was in high school.
“First of all, I’m really happy to be here,” McCaffrey said. “I think it’s a really great opportunity for you to be able to learn about financial literacy at this age. I really wish something like this had happened when I was your age. This is a huge deal.”
He spoke candidly about the whiplash he felt when he found sudden wealth from his college debt. He entered the league at age 20 and went from parking ticket debt to NFL paycheck almost overnight.
McCaffrey, widely regarded as the best running back in football, has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024 with an average annual salary of $19 million. This contract earns him an additional $8 million over his previous contract, and is a significant increase from his previous annual salary of $16 million.
“The biggest piece of advice I would give you before you receive your first paycheck is to learn the language of money,” he said.
For McCaffrey, “learning a language” means more than understanding the terminology. That means finding smart people to act as financial advisors, especially people who have learned how to invest by failing.
Some of the best questions came when Johnson took the microphone to the students, including questions every teenager wanted to ask. “What did a football professional do when he first saw a million dollar check?”
His answer surprised them.
“I didn’t even look at it. I just kept working,” he said. “I don’t play football for the money, and I don’t play football for the accolades. I’ve never done that before and I never will. I think players who want money for accolades are often out of the league after two or three years. But ironically, the players who love the game are the ones who get the money and the accolades.”
David Zasada, vice president of education and corporate responsibility at Intuit, says it’s precisely this practical, evidence-based approach that says,
“Children usually don’t think about financial literacy until they make serious financial decisions that can affect them for a long time,” Zasada says. “Sports prepares you for success on game day, and high school prepares you with a focus on financial literacy so you can succeed beyond the graduation stage.”
The combination of NFL star power and real-world financial lessons was the biggest takeaway.
Zasada noted that 30 states currently require personal finance courses, but in many cases there is no training, curriculum or funding. Intuit created this tour to provide students and teachers with tools not available anywhere else.
“Everything we do is free, all the professional development we do for teachers is free, all of these events are free,” he said.
Still, the moment that drew the biggest laughs, and perhaps the sharpest lesson, was when the student asked the entrepreneur about his first big purchase.
“I bought a matte black Aston Martin,” he said. “Everyone was clapping, but I never drove it, so I sold it after a year. The car didn’t appreciate in value. It was really cool. It looked great. I parked the car and people were talking about it. And I started thinking, ‘This is ridiculous.'”
Brian West is a music reporter for The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Instagram, TikTok, and X as @BryanWestTV.
