Managing payments and tax compliance as an international student-athlete in the United States presents unique challenges. But when we said we built digital banking for student-athletes, we meant all student-athletes. Teamworks is here to support your international student-athletes, providing them with a single place to receive, store, and spend their money–accurately, compliantly, and on time.
Since revenue sharing kicked off in July 2025, athletic departments have been navigating a new layer of complexity: how to pay international athletes. Teamworks Wallet was built to handle exactly that.
Teamworks Wallet partnered with Sprintax, a global tax partner trusted by organizations like Duke University, Columbia University, Mount Sinai, and more, to ensure all international student-athletes meet U.S. tax requirements and pay only what’s required. International student-athletes can receive revenue share payments directly through Wallet, with mandatory tax withholdings automatically applied based on their individual circumstances and applicable tax treaties.
The Teamworks Wallet + Sprintax Advantage
For schools that have designated Teamworks as their withholding agent, Wallet and Sprintax work together to give international student-athletes a seamless, compliant way to receive revenue share royalty payments while eliminating the administrative burden for your athletic department.
During the Wallet onboarding process, Sprintax guides each athlete through a streamlined questionnaire that determines their applicable federal withholding rate, generates pre-populated W-8BEN forms for royalty, scholarship (Alston, Housing, Travel Disbursement) and interest income, and ensures all compliance requirements are met before any payment is processed. The default IRS withholding rate for non-residents is 30%, but athletes whose home country has a tax treaty with the U.S. may qualify for a reduced rate — Wallet calculates and applies that rate automatically, so athletes pay only what they legally owe.
From there, we handle everything behind the scenes:
- Automatically collect W-8BEN forms before payment is issued — no chasing paperwork or manual follow-up required
- Calculate and apply the correct withholding rate at the time of payment across multiple payment types, including Revenue Share, Alston awards, and other applicable disbursements
- Built-in safeguards to avoid paying international athletes for non-compliant payment types (like payments for services) — protecting both the student-athlete and your institution before violations happen
- Remit withheld funds directly to the IRS and file all required forms, including issuing 1042-S forms to athletes at year-end
- Provide ongoing support in coordination with your university’s international student office and Sprintax’s support team
The result: a single platform for managing payments across both domestic and international athletes, stronger compliance tracking and reporting, and a genuine competitive edge in recruiting international prospects — all without adding work to your staff’s plate.
Seamlessly Connected Across Your Teamworks Ecosystem
Wallet is built to work hand-in-hand with the other Teamworks products your department already uses, making payments faster and workflows simpler across the board.
Influencer → Wallet
Send NIL payments seamlessly from Teamworks Influencer directly into Wallet for immediate, fee-free access. Simplify campaign compensation while giving athletes instant visibility into their earnings — no manual reconciliation, no delays between platforms.
GM → Wallet
Distribute revenue share and other payments directly from Teamworks GM into Wallet, streamlining financial operations and eliminating manual payment workflows. What previously required separate systems and manual steps now happens within the same connected platform your staff already uses every day.
Built for Every Student-Athlete
Teamworks Wallet was purpose-built for student-athletes — with all student-athletes in mind. Through our seamless digital banking solution, athletes can receive, store, and spend their money in one place, while our partnership with Sprintax ensures proper tax compliance without the burden of excessive withholdings.
Ready to simplify banking and tax compliance for your international student-athletes? Learn more about how Teamworks Wallet can help simplify your payments.
Teamworks Wallet does not provide 1042-S tax forms or serve as the withholding agent for payments made by third parties from the Influencer Exchange. This applies only to payments made by institutions using Teamworks Wallet for Revenue Share Royalty payments where the institution has elected Teamworks as the withholding agent. However, to ensure all tax forms are completed properly, all international athletes need to complete this process, regardless of the payment source.
