At the age of 17, Bryson Warren earns at least $100,000 a year as a high school student-athlete through Overtime Elite, a New York-based company that recruits outstanding teenage basketball players around the world to play at its academy in Atlanta.
Warren, who is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, was ranked by ESPN as no. 14 basketball player in his age group across the US. He has received offers from prestigious athletic programs since he was 14-years old. Most recently, he chose to sign with Overtime Elite, becoming the 8th five-star recruit and one of the top guard prospects.As an athlete at Overtime, Warren still attends regular classes in the afternoon after training and practice on weekdays. He could get a high school diploma and eventually take college-level courses. At the same time, he would be earning at least $100,000 with on-court performance bonuses of over $1 million.
"Not too many 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds can say they made at least $100K," Warren told CNBC. "We're just really getting a head start on life, just playing the game we love."
Warren uses part of his salary to make a positive impact on the community by investing in a local co-educational AAU basketball team in his hometown in Arkansas which helps support kids from 2nd to 6th grade.
Moreover, Warren is looking forward the most to reach his NBA dream. He hopes that joining Overtime Elite serves as a stepping stone for him to get drafted into the NBA one day. He is aware that the path he chose to take was not usual for teenagers like him, but he is confident that he would continue towards his success.
"You could see Overtime as a risk, or you can see it as an opportunity," he says. "This is the opportunity I chose, and it's the one I'm going to live with, and I'm at peace now."
Follow Bryson Warren on Instagram @hesifambryson