The Richest Club Soccer Match on the Planet

Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Final might have been the most prestigious club soccer match in the world, but in terms of hard cash, it was far from the most lucrative. Sure, professors can calculate the economic impact of winning the European Cup, but Manchester United's cash prize from UEFA for beating Chelsea was a mere £5.6 million -- and judging from the size of their debt, Man U will need every penny of it.

That prize, however, pales in comparison to what the winner of tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship playoff final at Wembley Stadium will receive. Either Bristol City or Hull City will win promotion to the Premier League, which guarantees them at least £60 million over the next three seasons -- roughly £38 million (or more) in TV revenue for 2008-2009, plus parachute payments of £11.2 million a year for two years if they get relegated after one season.

Bristol City hasn't been in the top flight of English football since 1979 and was in the third-tier League One just last season. Hull City, meanwhile, has never played top-flight football in its 104-year existence. Picture two random dudes in a bar playing one-on-one basketball against each other, and the winner gets a hot date with Marisa Miller. Yeah, it's kind of like that.

Of course, most pundits will look at these two clubs and presume the winner will be next year's Derby County. These two clubs, however, have been hovering around the top of the Championship table for most of the season, and only a late slip in form cost Bristol City automatic promotion to the Premier League. So regardless of next season's outcome, this match could a very entertaining one to watch -- especially with so much on the line.

Bristol City is the favorite here, as they beat Hull 2-1 at home and drew 0-0 away against them earlier this season. However, Hull City is on a tear after dismantling Watford 6-1 in the semifinals. Plus, this game will be played on Wembley Stadium's rather expansive pitch, so it's hard to say which club will use that to their advantage.

Two other promotion playoffs will take place in Wembley in the days following this event. Leeds United faces Doncaster in the League One final on Sunday, while Stockport faces Rochdale in the League Two final on Monday. This begs the question: how bad will the Wembley pitch be for next Wednesday's USA v. England match? Maybe it's not such a bad thing that Jozy Altidore won't be playing there.