Shedeur Sanders' watch flex: Classless, cool or a genius marketing move?

University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders wears a $70,000 stainless steel wristwatch with more than 30 carats of diamonds that were drilled into it by a jeweler in Florida.

The Royal Oak watch itself normally would cost about $30,000 from Swiss manufacturer Audemars Piguet. But this particular watch is different. Jacksonville jeweler Saki Mihalakos customized it by adding the glittering jewels, dramatically boosting its sparkle and value before he hand-delivered it to Sanders last year.

"It's fully iced-out with diamonds," Mihalakos told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday.

The point was to make it more attractive and turn heads long before it recently became the main accessory in a signature move that has triggered a small cultural wave of sorts in American sports, including imitators in the NBA and NFL.

It's called the watch flex. It's become far more conspicuous than the watch itself. After another brazen display of it last week, it's also creating controversy about whether it's cool, classless or just another genius marketing move by Sanders and his father, Deion, Colorado's coach. Their next performance comes Friday night against Stanford (1-5) on ESPN.

What is the issue with Shedeur Sanders' watch?

Shedeur Sanders, the nation’s leader in total passing yards, has flashed his watch several times this season during emotionally charged moments, raising his left arm to show it to people, including last week when he flexed it to the Arizona State student section after his team beat the Sun Devils, 27-24.

Is he just having fun and smartly bringing attention to himself to boost his own earning potential?

For example, his online store already sold out of some hooded black sweatshirts that depict the watch flex. They cost $100.

Or is this gesture unsportsmanlike and excessive, as many on social media have said?

The opinions are polarized. In some cases, race might play a role in how this watch move has been perceived negatively, experts told USA TODAY Sports. Yet it’s not much different than what white quarterback Johnny Manziel did 10 years ago when he flashed his "money sign," rubbing his fingers together in celebration as if he was sifting through cash.

"I think part of it is he’s young and he’s Black, and young Black quarterbacks haven’t been able to act like that, just because of the position and how that position is policed," said Louis Moore, a history professor at Grand Valley State in Michigan whose research has examined race and sports.

Why does Shedeur Sanders flex his watch?

By flexing his watch, the 21-year-old Shedeur Sanders is effectively showing what time it is after feeling miffed or disrespected, as he did before his team beat Colorado State in double overtime Sept. 16. That’s when Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell criticized Deion Sanders for wearing sunglasses and hats too frequently for his taste.

After the game, Shedeur Sanders even flashed his watch at Norvell. Then he did it again the same night during an interview on ESPN.

"We not going out like that, especially, you know, if somebody disrespect Pops," he said then. "I was just waiting the whole time to put a watch on ‘em."

The week before that, Shedeur Sanders also flexed his watch at the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who had disrespectfully walked on the Buffaloes’ logo in the middle of Folsom Field, according to him.

But it’s not a marketing move for the watch manufacturer, at least not yet.

"We’ve just got to get him a lucrative watch deal," Deion Sanders said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. "He can’t keep doing it for free … We gotta capitalize now. He is my son. Gotta capitalize on the moment, right?"

What is the reaction to it?

Certain celebrities have embraced it.

"That’s the new move," rapper Rick Ross said on social media last month as he flashed his own watch to the camera.

"I call this the Shedeur," famed DJ and record producer DJ Khaled said as he did the same.

NBA and NFL players have copied the move, too, including New York Jets players Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.

"I love to see it," Deion Sanders said. “It’s hilarious to me, because he and I joke about it on a daily basis.”

But many have the opposite reaction. After the Arizona State game, social media users on X (formerly Twitter,) bashed the Buffaloes quarterback. They might not have known that fans for Arizona State (1-5) had chanted "overrated" at his team before that.

"If there was a Heisman for beating 1-5 teams this guy would win it," former NFL and Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell wrote of Shedeur’s watch display.

"Blatant show of immaturity," another commenter wrote..

"Corny," said another.

"No class, like his dad."

"Deion is so much more likeable than Shedeur."

"Bragging about money is trashy."

"This is why everyone hates Colorado."

Why the polarized reaction?

Brash, wealthy young athletes have that effect, depending on fan loyalties and standards of sportsmanship. History adds additional context when that brash young athlete is Black.

For example, in the early 1900s, boxer Jack Johnson “sported fashionable fur coats, three-piece suits, and diamonds as a means to counter prevailing images of Black inferiority and savagery," said Theresa Runstedtler, associate professor in the history department at American University and author of a book on Jack Johnson.

Johnson was part of a long line of Black athletes who effectively thumbed their noses at these racist notions by showing off their affluence.

In this case, Shedeur Sanders "seems to be speaking back to the haters (and there has been a lot of racially tinged hate on social media about his father and the Colorado team) by flaunting Black wealth and success in the face of ASU fans," Runstedtler said in an email.

Moore, the history professor, said he doesn’t remember the "money sign” from Manziel being as polarizing, even though it’s similar. "People loved Johnny Manziel and that money sign," he said.

He said Shedeur is taking after his father, who appears on several national commercials and has been in the public eye for decades as a former two-sport star in pro football and baseball. It works for Shedeur now, too, because college athletes are allowed to cash in on their fame by selling names, images and likenesses (NIL).

"I think Deion and Shedeur are playing to the camera very smartly," he said. "They also understand that even negative attention is positive when it comes to their bank accounts. In that sense, he’s very much like a young, brash (boxer) Cassius Clay or Muhammed Ali. He understands that the more people dislike me or the more people get upset, the more attention I get − that’s a good thing for him."

What does Shedeur Sanders say about the watch move?

Last week he said it was something that originated spontaneously.

"It just happened," he said at a news conference in Boulder. "I didn’t know it was really gonna blow up or anything like that because it was just, you know, it was just in the moment. Nothing was like premeditated I would say to where I know, 'OK I’m gonna go do this.’ "

He said he "took it and ran with it."

His father said it goes back further and remembers him wearing jewelry and nice watches in high school. But he conceded that "we’re on a bigger stage" now, drawing more attention nationally.

The jeweler who customized the watch for Shedeur has his own opinion of the watch flex. He’s a former defensive back and assistant coach at South Florida.

"It’s about fun and looking good at the same time," Mihalakos said. He declined to say what Shedeur paid for the watch but said it’s worth about $70,000.

For Shedeur, it also means something else besides money, according to posts on his Instagram account

"Perfect timing."

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shedeur Sanders' watch flex sparks controversy. Dad Deion approves.