New multi-million dollar teen basketball league coming to Atlantic Station

Story by: Kendall Kylls

For years, sports enthusiasts across the country have accused the NCAA of exploiting young athletes; making millions of dollars off of their hard work while paying them absolutely nothing. Since most millennials got scammed by college anyway, it's no surprise that this generation of elite athletes are seeking alternatives, and one of those alternatives is set to debut in Atlanta this September.

Overtime, a digital sports media company founded in 2016, is bringing a new basketball league to Atlantic Station, along with an 103,000-square-foot playing facility. The new league, Overtime Elite, will exclusively feature high school players between the ages of 16 and 18, and promises each of them a minimum $100,000 salary, as well as a signing bonus and shares in Overtime’s larger business.

The league says they'll also provide health and disability insurance, and set aside $100,000 in college scholarship money for each player — in case any decide not to pursue basketball professionally. The players will live on the Atlantic Station campus, which will include personal living quarters and classrooms for schooling.

Rendering of Overtime Elite’s new basketball campus coming to Atlantic Station.

Overtime Elite will be competing directly with the NCAA for the nation's top high school basketball recruits, and they're already gaining some traction. Last month, the league signed Matt and Ryan Bewley, twin power forwards from Florida who are both ranked among the top 20 high school juniors in the country. The contracts for both players are expected to top seven figures, according to The Rookie Wire.

Matt and Ryan Bewley, Overtime Elite's first official signees, are the 2nd & 16th overall prospects in the class of 2023.

Of course, the trade-off here is that neither of them will be able to play high school or college basketball. However, the goal for each of the league's 30 players will most likely be the NBA, and Overtime Elite claims that their league will put each of them on the fast-track.

The league offers a year-round player development program, and will reportedly be a comprehensive accelerator for elite players’ professional careers. The Hawks' Trae Young and rapper Killer Mike are reportedly investors in the league.