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This Monday Middlesbrough take on Norwich City in the Championship Playoff Final for comfortably the richest prize in professional sports: a guaranteed, minimum one-year pass to the Premier League gravy train. The winner can look forward to trips to Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford and Anfield. The loser is condemned to at least another year of second tier soccer.
The financial rewards that come from just one solitary season in the EPL are estimated at north of $180 million, including the TV money on offer and parachute payments made when a team is relegated. If Monday’s winners can survive their first season back in the top flight, they’ll also get a slice of the Premier League’s new bumper TV package, which kicks in from 2016-17.
To put that purse in some perspective, here’s the total prize money on offer to the winner of some of sport’s biggest competitions:
Champions League Winners: $60 million - $70 million (varies depending upon winner’s country’s TV pool)
FIFA World Cup Winners: $35 million
Super Bowl Winners: $15.5 million
World Series Winners: $14.8 million
So if you thought Russell Wilson and Tom Brady were under pressure last January in Arizona, just imagine how the likes of Cameron Jerome or Grant Leadbitter will be feeling if Monday’s match goes to penalties.
Who will win? Middlesbrough bested Norwich twice (4-1 and 1-0) during the regular season, but the Canaries had the better end to 2014-15 and arguably have momentum on their side. They also scored 20 more goals than Boro, whose top scorer by some distance, Patrick Bamford, is an injury doubt for the final.
Ultimately, though, over 90 minutes of football in such a pressure-cooker environment, it’s a coin toss. For the record, the bookies make Norwich marginal favourites at odds of 5/6 if you fancy a flutter.
However much you bet, we’re certain Middlesbrough and Norwich have considerably more money riding on the outcome.
