Exempt status means that you may not be paid for overtime. It doesn't mean you can't be. I haven't tried to push that point in a negotiation but I'd be curious to see how it goes. It could backfire on you, for sure, but who knows the balance until one tries?

And while I haven't negotiated for it, I was paid overtime on a contract gig once. Pulled in ten thousand dollars a week. That was a wild summer.