How to Collect Money From Your Team for Jerseys and Equipment

October 18, 2026 · Ondot Team

The team votes yes on matching jerseys. Someone volunteers to "handle the order." Three weeks later, that person has paid $600 on their own card, the jerseys have arrived, and four players still haven't paid — one of whom stopped showing up. If you're the captain, coach, or just the most organized person in the group chat, here's how to collect for jerseys and gear without ending up as the team's unofficial lender.

Get the real per-player price first

The number that causes trouble is the one on the product page. A jersey listed at $32 rarely costs $32 by the time it reaches your team. Before you tell anyone a price, get a full quote that includes:

• Name and number printing — often charged per letter or per item on top of the base price.
• Setup or design fees — some suppliers charge a one-time fee for a custom design or logo.
• Shipping and sales tax — easy to forget, and they add up on a team-sized order.
• Minimum order quantities — many custom suppliers require a minimum number of pieces, so check this before you count on a smaller order.
• One or two spares — for the player who joins mid-season or the jersey that gets ruined in week two.

Add it all up, divide by the number of players who've actually committed, and round up to a clean number. If the math comes to $41.60 per player, ask for $45. The extra few dollars covers a payment that falls through or a size that needs reordering, and anything left over goes into the team fund (more on that below).

Jerseys and shared gear are two different asks

Teams often lump everything into one collection — "$60 each for jerseys, balls, and a pop-up tent" — and it creates problems. Jerseys and shared equipment work differently, so collect for them differently.

Jerseys are a fixed price per person. Each player gets their own item, so each player pays the same amount. Someone who doesn't want a jersey simply doesn't order one.

Shared gear is a pooled cost. Balls, cones, a ball pump, a first-aid kit, a tent for tournament days, an end-of-season dinner — everyone benefits, but not equally, and some players can afford to chip in more than others. Here, set a team goal and a suggested amount, and let people give what they can. A flexible ask for a shared goal usually raises as much in total as a fixed one, with less friction. (We cover why in our guide to collecting money for a group gift — the same dynamics apply.)

Keeping them separate also means a player who's leaving after this season can skip the jerseys but still chip in for the gear they've been using.

Don't place the order until the money is in

This is the rule that protects you. Custom jerseys with your team's name and players' numbers usually can't be returned or resold, so if you order first and collect later, every unpaid jersey is money out of your pocket — and "I'll pay you at the next game" has a way of turning into never.

Collect first, then order. That gives you three things:

1. An exact headcount. You order jerseys only for the players who've paid — no guessing, no extras nobody claims.
2. No IOUs. You're never asking teammates to reimburse you, which always feels optional. You're asking them to join the order, which is an easier yes.
3. A clean answer for latecomers. "The order closed Friday — I'll put you on the next one" is a lot easier to say when you're not out of pocket.

Custom orders often take a few weeks to produce and ship, so work backwards from when you need the jerseys. If your season starts on the 1st and your supplier quotes three weeks, your collection deadline is the first week of the previous month — not "whenever everyone gets around to it."

Collect sizes alongside payment

The second-most-common jersey disaster, after unpaid players, is wrong sizes. Ask for size, name on the back, and number in the same message as the payment link, with the same deadline.

A simple shared spreadsheet or a group chat poll works fine for sizes. Pin it next to the payment link and only include players in the final order once they've both paid and filled in their size. If your supplier offers a size kit or a sizing chart, share it — a few people will always guess wrong otherwise, and reorders cost extra.

Make paying take ten seconds

"Venmo me, or Zelle me, or bring cash Thursday" sounds flexible, but it means you're reconciling three apps and a pocket full of twenties against a roster. Some teammates don't use the same apps, and newer players may not want to swap personal payment handles with someone they met two weeks ago.

What works best is one link you drop in the team chat. Anyone who opens it pays by card in a few taps, without downloading an app or creating an account, and you see who's paid in one place.

That's what Ondot's Pool Money feature is built for. You set a goal and a suggested amount, share the link, and teammates pay from their phones. For jerseys, set the suggested amount to the per-player price — it's pre-filled when each player opens the link. For shared gear, set a team goal and let people adjust the amount. Everyone sees a progress bar toward the goal, but only you, the organizer, see each person's name and amount — so you can check the list against your roster without anyone's contribution being public. Contributors see a small card processing fee before they pay, so the amount they choose is the amount that reaches the team, and the money is paid out to your bank once you connect it.

Ondot doesn't collect sizes or jersey numbers, so keep using your spreadsheet or poll for those.

If your team also pays per session for field or court time, our guide to running a recurring pickup game without chasing payments covers that side.

When someone can't afford it

On almost every team, there's at least one player for whom $45 is a real expense. A few ways to handle it without singling anyone out:

• Use the gear fund. Let people who want to give a little extra toward the shared pool do so, and quietly use part of it to cover a teammate's jersey. Most teams have a few players who are happy to.
• Find a sponsor. A local business — a bar, a restaurant, a physical therapy clinic — will often cover part of the cost in exchange for a logo on the sleeve or back. Even a partial sponsorship lowers the price for everyone.
• Keep it private. Never post who has and hasn't paid in the group chat. Share the running total instead ("18 of 22 jerseys paid — two days left!") and follow up one-on-one with anyone who's missing.

A message you can copy

Your first message should answer every question before it's asked:

Jerseys are happening! $45 per player — that covers the jersey, your name and number, shipping, and tax. Pay here: [link]. Then add your size, name, and number to this sheet: [link]. Both close Friday the 14th and I'll place the order that weekend (they take about 3 weeks). Jerseys only get ordered for people who've paid and filled in the sheet. Anything left over goes into the team gear fund.

Swap in your own price, links, and dates. Notice what it doesn't do: it doesn't ask anyone to pay you personally, and it doesn't leave the deadline open-ended.