Andrew Buller-Russ
Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, with over 130 million consumers spending their hard-earned money on items that cost a fraction of their normal price. TCL, the NFL’s official TV partner, wanted to capitalize on their football market with the first-ever Black Friday NFL game, with the Miami Dolphins battling the New York Jets.
Two days before Friday’s Week 12 matchup kicked off, TCL publicized a special offer where they’d give contestants a chance to win a 98-inch big-screen TV. People could go to TCL.com and enter their information for a chance to win. TCL said they’d limit the total amount of rewards to $1 million. Sounds pretty cool, right?
The only catch was that a player had to score a 98-yard touchdown for the sweepstakes to get underway. It’s a very rare occurrence in the pros, and TCL probably thought the chances of actually having to pay out were slim to none.
Leave it up to Jets third-string QB Tim Boyle, who was thrust into the team’s starting role after Aaron Rodgers suffered his injury, in addition to Zach Wilson’s continued ineffectiveness. Well, Boyle’s performance didn’t go any better.
With the Jets trailing 10-6 just before halftime, New York attempted a Hail Mary pass, but it went horribly. Dolphins safety Jevon Holland intercepted the lame duck and promptly returned the ball 99 yards for a touchdown.
Just like that, anyone who entered their name into TCL’s TV sweepstakes likely had a light go off in their head, wondering if they’d be one of the lucky few who win a new TV.
Although TCL likely didn’t ever expect to pay out on this offer, they have since stated their intention to proceed with their plan to give away $1M worth of 98-inch TVs. This will result in 84 lucky households getting a television that typically costs roughly $12,000 for no cost at all. Not a bad way to spend Thanksgiving.
Related: NFL QB Rankings 2023: Jordan Love climbs, Dak Prescott dazzles on Thanksgiving
