A Jeff Bezos-backed startup basketball league which plans to pay high schoolers a minimum salary of $100,000 per year to hoop it up instead of going to college has made five-star-prospect twin brothers its first signings.
Announced Friday, Overtime Elite has inked Matt and Ryan Bewley to two-year deals. The top-rated brothers will take part in the league’s inaugural season when it kicks off this September.
Per Overtime’s proprietary assessment system, which guides the league’s signing decisions, the 17-year-old Bewley twins ranked off the charts amongst the best domestic and international prospects between the ages of 16 and 18.
“Matt Bewley and Ryan Bewley are extraordinary athletes, who represent a unique combination of competitiveness, drive, mental and physical toughness, and leadership. Their talent, along with the willingness and desire to learn, will position them to maximize their development on the way to long and successful pro careers,” said Brandon Williams, Overtime’s head of basketball operations. “These two are the types of foundational players that will make everyone around them better, as leaders on and off the court. Signing these two great pillars for our program is an exciting beginning.”
In addition to their $100,000 salaries, the brothers are also eligible for signing bonuses and shares in the company. Overtime’s players will also generate revenue from the use of their name, image and likeness, in addition to sales of custom jerseys, trading cards, video games and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), according to the Associated Press.
“These remarkable young men have the vision, character and strength to make history as the first high school juniors to enter basketball’s professional ranks,” said NCAA championship coach and 13-year NBA vet Kevin Ollie, Overtime’s head coach and director of player development. “I’m looking forward to working with them to not only develop their basketball skills, but holistically so that they can reach their full potential as whole people.”
The brothers, who would have been juniors next season at West Oaks Academy in Orlando and were top recruits for the Class of 2023 with interest from colleges like Alabama, Auburn and Florida, forgo their college eligibility by signing two-year deals with Overtime.
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