Two months after announcing he’d be spending his final two high school seasons running with Overtime Elite’s pro team, Naasir Cunningham is even more convinced that his anomalous path “was 100% the right decision.”
“It really just came down to me knowing that Overtime was the best place I could develop to take my talent to the next level,” Cunningham says. “OTE [has] a full pro coaching staff with every resource you can think of and more. Then when the time comes after I’m finished with high school, I can still go to college if that’s what I decide. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Cunningham pulled the ultimate chess move, pioneering a new path of reaping the benefits of the pro path, but declining the salary—the minimum is $100,000—in order to preserve his amateur eligibility. Cunningham will, however, be able to cash in on his Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) as a member of OTE.
