Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring during the Championship playoff semifinal match against West Brom at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on May 11. Photo: IC

What is the playoff actually worth? There is no doubt that it is the richest game in the world but the interesting thing might be more than we all think.

That's when we take into account the money banked from the Premier League - prize money and parachute payments, if and when relegated back to the Championship - plus any earnings that come from having bigger crowds and commercial ventures that would not have been earned in the second tier.

Recent figures showed that to be the case for Derby County as far back as 2007 when they beat West Bromwich Albion in a game that was said to be worth 60 million pounds (76 million). The Villans actually netted 61.3 million pounds despite only staying in the top flight for a solitary season.

Hull City did even better from their 60 million pound game the following year, eventually netting 112 million pounds from their two seasons in the Premier League. Burnley enjoyed a similar windfall from winning the playoffs, netting 79.4 million pounds instead of the 60 million that was meant to come their way from a single year at the top table of English football. This was helped in large part because attendances at Turf Moor swelled by 58 percent that season.

Honey pot

In 2010, the Championship Playoff's purported value swelled from 60 to 90 million and Blackpool were the first to taste that sweetened honey pot. The Tangerines again only managed to stay in the Premier League a single season but they got even more than they expected - if only to the tune of another 1.9 million pounds. Blackpool also experienced a massive 83 percent hike in crowds that season.

Perhaps the biggest success stories of the Premier League era came in the next two years - in two games that were worth much more than the 90 million figure that took the headlines at the time. Swansea City beat Reading and won not only a place in the Premier League but an eye-watering income north of 680 million and counting.

That's because of the ongoing parachute payments, which still include 200 million to come in the future but also 50 million in extra commercial income and more than 430 million from the Premier League itself, include parachute payments already received.

The Swans did not do as well as West Ham United, though might have done had they not been relegated at the end of the 2017-18 season. The London side has done even better commercially - almost double what Swansea City pulled at over 100 million - and have retained their place in the top flight and with it the increase in their share of the TV revenue and larger parachute payments should relegation ever beckon. The Playoff final has been worth almost 720 million to the club so far, almost eight times as much as the figure publicized at the time.

Richest game

By the time Crystal Palace edged out Watford for the chance to play in the 2013-14 Premier League, the richest game in the world was said to be worth 120 million pounds. It has been much more valuable to the Selhurst Park outfit, an extra 460 million pounds more in fact.

This does not even take into account the inflated prices that they can command for their players as proven in the Premier League and on the international stage rather than in the Championship. Whatever happens with their most wanted footballers this summer - and both Wilfried Zaha and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are being linked with moves away - the club is sure to get more than 200 million more in the future merely by token of its Premier League status.

QPR in 2014 and Norwich City a year later were also playing a 120 million game when they visited Wembley for their Playoff Finals. Both teams only stayed around for one Premier League season but both raked in plenty more from their time among the elite. QPR took in almost 170 million and the Canaries more than 180 million, including the remainder of their parachute payments.

In 2016, Hull beat Sheffield Wednesday in the 170 million pound game and they earned just shy of 200 million for their efforts. Again it was a single season, and almost half of that is still to come from the money owed for being relegated back to the Championship. The Tigers did not make the most of their commercial opportunities - pulling the least in of all the teams since 2007- but they did see an increase of 21 percent in attendances.

Broadcast bonus

The figures are not yet in for those that have followed but it is safe to say that the pattern will not have changed in recent years as the Premier League has become even richer thanks to its increased broadcast deals at home and abroad. The game in 2017, won by Huddersfield Town, was said to be worth 170 million but figures at the time valued it at up to 200 million while that figure has been as high as 290 million since.

The Terriers were relegated at the end of last season and will be cashing on parachute payments soon enough. A similar fate has befallen their fellow relegated team from the last campaign Fuham. The Cottagers were sent back to the Championship after just one season. There was a more cautious figure of 160 million said to be at stake to the winner but that number has also been said to be at least 14 million more over the three seasons following their Wembley win last May.

So what lies in store for the team that lost to Fulham a year ago, Aston Villa, and their opponents Derby County? Riches beyond the headline writers' wildest dreams and certainly more than the 170 million said to be on offer for the victors on Monday. Now all they need to do is go out there and win their right to take it.