6 Reasons to Keep Student-Athlete Revenue Share Payments In House

As revenue share becomes a reality in college athletics, many universities are weighing their options for managing student-athlete payments. The temptation to hand off this process to a third-party provider is understandable. After all, it’s a new territory and this can seem like an easier path.

But when it comes to distributing funds directly to student-athletes, ease isn’t the only consideration. In fact, offloading revenue share to an outside vendor may introduce risks and inefficiencies that are easily avoided with the right in-house solution.

Here are six reasons why managing athlete revenue share payments internally — using a tool like BILL, implemented by James Moore — is the smarter approach for your institution.

1. Maintain Control of the Process — and Your Funds

Revenue share will be among the most closely watched financial workflows in your athletics department. When payments are handed off to a third party, you lose direct control over timing, tracking, and issue resolution. Even more concerning, some external providers require universities to transfer large sums of money to the vendor or grant access to institutional bank accounts.

By keeping payments in house, you avoid these risks. You retain full oversight of funding, maintain your existing internal controls and avoid putting your financial infrastructure in someone else’s hands.

2. Streamline Your Workflow, Not Complicate It

We’ll admit it: University procurement processes can be complicated. And in some cases, outsourcing might feel like the simpler option — especially when you’re trying to sidestep internal red tape. But simplicity shouldn’t come at the expense of control.

With a solution integrated into your university’s existing systems, you can have the best of both worlds: streamline payment execution while keeping everything in house. That means fewer handoffs, clearer internal accountability and a better fit within your internal control structure and financial reporting requirements. It’s about making your existing process work smarter, not handing it off entirely.

3. Protect Confidentiality and Avoid Conflicts of Interest

Athlete compensation is inherently sensitive from both a compliance and public perception standpoint. When you outsource payment processing, you expand the circle of who has access to sensitive financial and student information. Beyond privacy concerns, there’s a growing risk that third-party payment providers could face conflicts of interest (especially when they serve multiple schools).

In a world shaped by the transfer portal and NIL dynamics, discretion matters. An in-house process helps keep that circle tight. You determine who has visibility into athlete data and transactions, which helps you maintain FERPA compliance and protect the privacy of your student-athletes and your institution. And you avoid entanglements with vendors who may be navigating competing priorities.

4. Ensure Transparency and Build Confidence

As schools navigate this new world of revenue share, internal alignment is critical. Coaches, athletics senior leadership and campus stakeholders all need to understand and trust the process.

When payments are handled internally, stakeholders can see how funds are distributed, how approvals work and how everything fits within existing systems. That transparency builds confidence and buy-in, helping teams embrace the change rather than resist it. Having the data at your fingertips also supports internal audit readiness and compliance with risk oversight processes. Without visibility, even small gaps in communication can lead to mistrust and inefficiency.

5. Reduce Costs and Reinvest in Athletes

Even in-house solutions have fees. But they’re transparent, streamlined and significantly lower than those charged by the dominant third-party platforms in this space. We believe premium fees are difficult to justify, especially if the added cost doesn’t bring a clear return in compliance or efficiency. By contrast, in-house solutions are designed to be affordable, sustainable and focused on value.

Choosing to keep the process in house will bring cost savings that can be redirected into the revenue share pool itself — supporting your athletes instead of inflating vendor margins.

6. Stay Nimble in a Changing Landscape

Revenue share in college athletics is still evolving. Rules, timelines and expectations are likely to shift, especially in these early years of implementation.

With an internal system, you maintain flexibility to adjust as needed. Whether it’s changing the frequency of payments, updating workflows or modifying reporting processes, you can pivot quickly without waiting on a vendor to respond or renegotiate contract terms.

A Trusted, Turnkey Solution… Built for Higher Ed

James Moore has partnered with BILL, a proven digital payment platform we already use internally and for many of our outsourced accounting clients. We’ve extended this solution to serve colleges and universities specifically for revenue share — offering a simple, efficient way to stay compliant and in control.

We handle the setup. By complementing existing procurement processes, our approach keeps the entire workflow in house for a best-in-class platform that fits seamlessly into your operations.

You handle the payments. With BILL, you can deliver secure and rapid ACH transfers directly into athletes’ existing bank accounts — no extra hoops, and no additional bank accounts required.

Have questions? Contact our Collegiate Athletics CPAs and consultants to talk through how this could work for your athletic department. Download our overview for full details on how this solution works, including pricing and implementation.

All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a James Moore professional. James Moore will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.