Roger Federer, a brand ambassador for Rolex, often sports one of their watches during tournamentsGETTY IMAGES
Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. wearing a Richard Mille watch during the team's season opener against the Titans is "emblematic of the big-money sports culture" of '19, in which "eight-figure athletes increasingly flash six-figure watches as a branding opportunity for player and watchmaker alike," according to Alex Williams of the N.Y. TIMES. Watch site Hodinkee Managing Editor Stephen Pulvirent said, "A pop-cultural arms race has definitely emerged over the last decade or so when it comes to high-end watchmaking and top athletes. It's become the norm now. And for most people, seeing a watch on the wrist of someone they respect and admire is a pretty powerful entry point to the world of high-end watches." Soccer podcast "Men In Blazers" host Roger Bennett said watches and footballers have "become so symbiotic that you only have to mention any elite player and their fans can name their watch sponsor almost as quickly as they can the club they play for." Williams noted the "benefits for brands are obvious," as it "makes sense that the manufacturers would use the wrists of famous athletes as a sales device." For star athletes, endorsement money is "obviously part of the allure." Fine watches "send a signal to fans that today's multimillionaire athletes are not sweat-drenched gladiators, but men and women of taste and refinement" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/22).
