Looking for a last-minute deal before the Super Bowl? This is my favorite affordable TV you can still get today in most stores

(Image credit: TCL)

So the biggest televised sporting event of the year is mere hours away and you’ve suddenly been struck with the overwhelming desire to upgrade your living room with a flashy new TV. Perhaps you’ve also decided to be a savvy spender rather than to throw a stupendously large amount of cash at a high-end, ultra-premium TV.

If you’re about to grab your keys and high-tail it out the door to Best Buy, Walmart or any other brick-and-mortar store for a last-minute deal on a brand-new TV, let me bend your ear for a second about one of my favorite affordable TVs on shelves right now: The TCL QM7K is a popular, mid-range Mini-LED TV that I’ve been suggesting to friends, family and acquaintances for months now, and as luck would have it, it’s on sale in every one of its screen sizes.

You can get the 55-inch TCL QM7K for just $599 at Best Buy today, and that’s a full $700 off its original price. This is a TV whose bright, colorful picture will not only do the big game justice, but it’ll serve you well for future games, movie nights and afternoon TV binges. Let me tell you why you should keep your eye out for it when you’re browsing the TV section.

The TCL QM7K is one of the best mid-range Mini-LED TVs that's relatively easy to find at big-box retailers like Best Buy. All of the sizes in the series are on sale ahead of the Super Bowl, too, so you've got plenty of options to choose from. Since its debut, I've been recommending this TV to friends and family on account of its bright, acommodating picture, its built-in Google TV software (which makes streaming a breeze) and its nifty, contrast-enhancing Mini-LED backlighting. This is the one to get if you want to save money on a dependable, impressive-looking TV ahead of the Super Bowl.

Other sizes in stores:
65-inch QM7K: was $1,499 now $797 @ Best Buy
75-inch QM7K: was $1,999 now $999 @ Best Buy
85-inch QM7K: was $2,499 now $1,497 @ Best Buy
98-inch QM7K: was $3,999 now $1,999 @ Best Buy

A TCL QM7K QD-Mini LED TV on a side table — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

While ultra-affordable, entry-level TVs typically leverage simplistic LED backlighting, the mid-range QM7K makes use of Mini-LEDs. This is its best feature, and one of the reasons I've been recommending it to sports fans for a while now.

As the name suggests, Mini-LEDs are smaller-sized LEDs that usually deliver better backlight control due to their size. Better backlight control not only allows for better overall contrast, it's the primary reason why the QM7K delivers a bright enough picture for watching daytime sports.

And when it comes to brightness, it's worth noting that the QM7K has more horsepower under the hood than entry-level LED TVs, as well. According to the tests we carried out for our TCL QM7K review, this TV is capable of over 1,700 nits of highlight brightness in HDR.

For context, the QM7K's little sibling — the entry-level TCL QM6K — tops out at around 700 nits. If you're hosting a Super Bowl watch party and you've got a relatively bright living space, you'll definitely appreciate the QM7K's added brightness.

If you're hosting a Super Bowl watch party and you've got a relatively bright living space, you'll definitely appreciate the QM7K's added brightness.

If you're streaming the Super Bowl this year, the QM7K will get you there in a smooth, fuss-free style. It comes with Google TV's easy-to-use smart platform pre-installed. It's my second-favorite smart platform behind Roku, and its robust app support and friendly interface makes it a superb daily driver.

Those planning on doing some gaming in the months and years ahead stand to squeeze even more value out of the QM7K due to its fantastic array of gaming features for this mid-range price point. It comes with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K gaming up to 144Hz. This means the QM7K can take full advantage of the Xbox Series X and PS5 Pro.

In the last week alone I've recommended the QM7K to two people in my personal life. Neither of them were looking to upgrade specifically for a Super Bowl watch party, but in both cases, the QM7K proved versatile enough to earn my recommendation.

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Michael Desjardin is a Senior Editor for TVs at Tom's Guide. He's been testing and tinkering with TVs professionally for over a decade, previously for Reviewed and USA Today. Michael graduated from Emerson College where he studied media production and screenwriting. He loves cooking, zoning out to ambient music, and getting way too invested in the Red Sox. He considers himself living proof that TV doesn't necessarily rot your brain.

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