Cook is part of a 15-man squad hoping to boost their bank balance in Antigua
Alastair Cook admits money will be the sole motivation for England's players in the Stanford Twenty20 game.
Each player will earn $1m (�577,500) if they beat a Stanford Superstars side in the game on 1 November in Antigua.
"The actual cricket is quite unimportant, apart from financially," the England batsman told BBC 5 Live.
"Of course, money does talk and a lot of the players are excited about playing it but in terms of cricket, we know it's not that important."
Cook played down the cricketing significance of the Stanford event
Essex opener Cook is part of a 15-man squad who will travel to the Caribbean to play in the Stanford Super Series - should it go ahead.
Talks are ongoing after the West Indies Cricket Board, which sanctioned the match, lost a High Court case against team sponsor Digicel, which had been overlooked for the Stanford Super Series.
The series is the brainchild of billionaire businessman Sir Allen Stanford.
Asked whether it would be important were it not for the prize money on offer, Cook responded: "Of course it wouldn't.
"We'll use it probably as a warm-up for the Twenty20 World Cup in England next year.
"We can only benefit and that's a good position to be in, but when you're talking about the Stanford millions or the Ashes, there's only going to be one winner."
England signed up to the series at a glitzy launch in June, where Stanford emphatically denied the idea was merely a gimmick.
He revealed that each winning player would receive more than �500,000, with another �1m split between the rest of the squad and the coaches.
Another �3.5m is set to be divided between the England and West Indies Cricket Boards, if a compromise between Digicel and the WICB can be reached.
Stanford Super Series schedule:
25 Oct: Stanford Super Stars v Trinidad & Tobago 26 Oct: England v Middlesex 27 Oct: Trinidad & Tobago v Middlesex 28 Oct: England v Trinidad & Tobago 29 Oct: Stanford Super Stars v Middlesex 30 Oct: Rest day 31 Oct: Legends Beach Cricket match 1 Nov: Stanford Super Stars v England
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