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Professional High School Basketball League

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Overtime set to launch professional high school basketball league that pays players $100K

The league is hoping to become an alternative to college for young basketball stars


While a majority of NBA players make quite a good living through their contracts, college and high school basketball stars playing for free has been a hot button issue for years. Multimedia sports brand Overtime is trying to change that.

They will be starting a professional basketball league that will offer high school basketball players an alternative to college in preparation for the NBA. Overtime Elite will begin in September 2021 and will feature 30 of the nation's top prospects from ages 16-18. The athletes will be given a guaranteed minimum salary of $100,000 in addition to bonuses and equity in the league.

The league's athletes will also have access to healthcare and disability benefits. If an Overtime Elite athlete chooses not to pursue an NBA career, the league will pay them up to $100,000 to go towards college tuition.



Entire article: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ool-basketball-league-that-pays-players-100k/
 
Matt, Ryan Bewley first high school juniors to join Overtime Elite league, sources say

Two 6-foot-9 Florida twins ranked among the top 15 high school juniors in the country -- Matt and Ryan Bewley -- are signing two-year deals with the Overtime Elite professional league, sources told ESPN, marking the first prep underclassmen to sign contracts with an American professional basketball league.

Matt, who is ranked No. 3 by ESPN for the Class of 2023, and Ryan, ranked No. 12, will forgo high school and college eligibility to join the start-up league in September for contracts that are expected to pay them each seven figures over the two-year range of the deals, sources said.

OTE is a well-funded start-up for high school players who want to use the league as an alternative training program to traditional high school and college basketball before entering the NBA draft.

The league has been preparing to challenge college basketball for the top underclassman high school players in the country, with the Bewley twins the first salvo in that battle.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...-school-juniors-join-elite-league-sources-say
 
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I'll be interested to see how long this Overtime Elite league lasts. For the time being, good on those kids for capitalizing on the opportunity. Can't even imagine getting paid $500k a year at 16 years old.

They seem to be well funded for now:

Overtime Sports Startup Raises Fresh Funds From Jeff Bezos, Drake, Dozens Of NBA Players

Brooklyn-based sports startup Overtime has raised $80 million in Series C funding from investors including Bezos Expeditions (the personal investment company of Jeff Bezos), Drake and more than 25 current and former NBA stars including Trae Young, Devin Booker, Klay Thompson and Pau Gasol.

In total, Overtime, which was founded in 2016, has now raised more than $140 million in funding.

It also has 50 million social media followers and crosses verticals from content to e-commerce, its sports app, and live events. It said the fresh funds will go in part to develop new basketball league OTE (Overtime Elite), guaranteeing salaries for athletes and hiring a staff 80 league employees to launch an inaugural season in September.

The full list of current and former NBA players invested in this round, including Deandre Ayton, Lonzo Ball, Will Barton, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Pau Gasol, Aaron Gordon, Danny Green, Zach LaVine, Kyle Lowry, Kenyon Martin, JaVale McGee, Khris Middleton, Kelly Olynyk, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Domas Sabonis, Garrett Temple, Isaiah Thomas, Klay Thompson, Thaddeus Young, Trae Young, Gerald Wallace, Hassan Whiteside, Andrew Wiggins, and Nick “Swaggy P” Young.

Other investors include PROOF, Gaingels, Concrete Rose Capital, Dentsu Ventures, Intersect Capital, LightShed Ventures, WNBA All-Star and commentator Chiney Ogwumike, Rogue Insight Capital, Bakari Sellers, 10X Capital, True Capital Management, and Ares Management’s Nate Walton.

Entire article: https://deadline.com/2021/04/overtime-sports-funding-jeff-bezos-drake-nba-players-1234741622/
 
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Top European prospect Tudor Somacescu signs with Overtime Elite

Tudor Somacescu, one of Europe's most promising prospects, is signing with Overtime Elite, the league told ESPN on Tuesday.

Somacescu is the 12th player to sign with Overtime Elite, bringing it halfway to it stated goal of 24 players for the upstart league's inaugural season.

The Romanian-born Somacescu, who turned 16 last month, spent this past season as a freshman at Sierra Canyon High School in Southern California alongside top-five recruit Amari Bailey and Bronny James, son of LeBron James. He is currently the youngest player on Overtime's roster.

He gained fame as the youngest player in FIBA history to average double-figure scoring in a European Championship, which he did just weeks after turning 14 years old, playing up two age categories at the U16 European Championship Division B in 2019. Somacescu made his debut in the Romanian first division competing against professionals last winter before departing for the U.S.

Somacescu, at 6-foot-2, is a creative point guard with strong ballhandling and passing ability who stands out with his competitiveness and feel for the game, which has allowed him to hold his own against older players from an early age.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31847966/top-european-prospect-tudor-somacescu-signs-elite
 
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Tyler Smith, No. 8 basketball prospect in 2023 class, signs with Overtime Elite

Tyler Smith, the No. 8 basketball prospect in ESPN's Class of 2023, has signed with Overtime Elite, he told ESPN on Sunday.

"This is different and new," Smith said. "I wanted to be a pro already, working on stuff that NBA players work on. In high school, you can't work out as much as they do at OTE."

Smith is the seventh five-star recruit to sign with the upstart league. He is considered one of the best long-term prospects in the class, spurning scholarship offers from schools such as Kansas, Baylor, Texas, Florida State, Oklahoma, Memphis, LSU and others..
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Smith, who will turn 17 in November, is not eligible for the NBA draft until 2024 under current rules, unless he is able to graduate high school a year early and enter the 2023 draft, which he would be eligible for due to his age. He said he signed a two-year, "seven figure" contract with OTE and "will see from there." Smith said he'll be represented by agent Chris Gaston of Family First Sports.

Entire article: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...-8-basketball-prospect-2023-class-signs-elite
 
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