TORONTO – Tony Kanaan is old enough to remember when being a free agent was fun. When IndyCar team owners would trip over themselves trying to find ways to get the best drivers in their cars. When the money being talked about was more than he had ever dreamed of as a kid trying to make it to the big time. When there were fancy dinners and private planes. Owners would promise you the world, he remembers, and you could ask for more.

Being a talented free agent in American open-wheel racing used to be a little like being a talented free agent in the NFL or NBA, Kanaan said with a wistful smile. It’s not anymore. As the season approaches its end and the rumor mill begins to heat up, the 20-year IndyCar veteran provided a sobering look at what it means to be a driver on the market.

"Free agency nowadays, I feel for the kids," Kanaan said. "Before it was a good thing. Now it’s not."

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For the most part, Kaanan said, if you want to drive in the Verizon IndyCar Series, you not only need to win races, you need to bring sponsorship money to the team. And if you can’t win races, well, bring a lot of money.

“It’s about talent, but it’s mostly about the money,” Kanaan told IndyStar in Toronto. “I can assure you, go to some of these teams and ask them, ‘If you could pick a driver, who would you pick?’ Or, ‘Are you happy (with your drivers)?’ They probably won’t speak openly about it, but some of those guys that are around, they are not their teams’ first choice. But those guys bring money and (teams) have to survive. It’s a business.”

Bleak? Maybe. But in an era when sponsors are harder to find and retain, it’s the reality IndyCar operates in. No one knows that better than Kanaan.

Coming off a season in which he finished 13 of 17 races in the top 10, won at Iowa, had two more podium finishes and finished sixth in the championship, Kanaan found himself out of a job.

“(After 2011), I had a long-term contract with Andretti, but they lost 7-Eleven as a sponsor,” the 2004 IRL season champion said. “I still had three years left on my deal, but Michael (Andretti) came to me and said, ‘OK we don’t have a sponsor for your car. I can't afford you, and I can’t field a car for you.'”

That was in November, Kanaan said. Pretty late in the game for a free agent to be looking for a new ride. None of the big teams had openings left, so Kanaan was forced to do something he’d never had to do: sell himself. For the first time in his career, his results — at the time a championship, 15 wins, 14 poles and 58 podiums — didn't speak for themselves. Kanaan would have to speak, too.

“It was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Kanaan said. He eventually found enough sponsorship money to land a ride at the small operation KV Racing Technology. “When you’re a kid and you dream of racing, (selling yourself to sponsors) is not something I thought I was going to do. … I thought if I just worried about winning races, everything was going to take care of itself. It’s not the case.”

Fortunately for Kanaan, finding his own sponsors turned out to be a sort of blessing in disguise.

As one of IndyCar's most successful and charismatic drivers, he built a loyal stable of sponsors over the years who have told him they will be with him until the day he decides to quit. That has afforded him the opportunity to choose what he wants to do and where he wants to go.

“I am in a very good spot as far as free agency goes, because I bring money, and I’m Tony Kanaan,” he said. “But when a guy of my level started to bring money, teams are never going to ask me not to bring money. Once you start, it’s what you got to do.”

These days, there are probably six, maybe seven drivers who don’t have to worry about bringing sponsorship dollars to the table, Kanaan said. That list includes his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and four-time champion Scott Dixon, the four Team Penske drivers (Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden) and Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay.

That list might also include Schmidt Peterson Motorsport star and free agent to-be James Hinchcliffe, Kanaan speculated, but he’s not sure.

“In this sport nowadays, either you are a (great driver) and you find a team that can fund you, which there are not many left anymore, or you have all of your budget from sponsors, who fund you and you get a job that way. There’s nothing in between there.”

And that’s a big problem, Kanaan said. Because, frankly, there are some drivers in the paddock who probably don’t deserve to be there but are able to find money. And they will be coveted in free agency over more talented drivers.

“It hurts the sport,” Kanaan said. “It’s not good when you have to give rich kids an opportunity when they might not be as talented as some (drivers) looking for a job.

“When I had no money, I had sponsors over the years that said, ‘He’s the guy. Put him in there.’ In a way, it’s paying for a ride. But it’s the right way. It’s not, ‘Hey dad.’ There’s nothing wrong with that, but again, I just think sometimes it’s a little unfair.”

So, as the season heads toward its finale and the rumor mill begins to churn out potential landing spots for drivers, remember: Talent will matter, but money talks.

Follow IndyStar reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.