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Denny Hamlin spoke out Wednesday about the amount of money NASCAR drivers earn in comparison to other leagues like the NBA and NFL. Since 2001, tracks have received 65 percent from rights fees while teams earned 25 percent with NASCAR getting the last 10. The deal NASCAR currently has with Fox and NBC lasts through 2024 and is estimated at more than $8 billion.

Similarly to how athletes in other sports rely on endorsements, race teams are largely fielded by way of sponsorships, which account for roughly 75 percent of their income. In this silly season, there are still big name drivers like Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch without homes next season largely due to money and sponsorship issues.

"The pie has to be shifted for sure," Hamlin said to NBC Sports at a charity event Wednesday morning to promote International Walk to School Day with sponsor FedEx. "The TV dollars coming into NASCAR is higher than it's ever been, but we're seeing fewer and fewer teams, and it just can't survive. So it economically doesn't make sense. The pie, the amount of TV money that the race teams share, has to go up, in my opinion."

"I think we're way underpaid on that as race car drivers. That's a fact," Hamlin continued at the event. "I think there's no doubt doing what we do, the schedule we have, the danger we incur every single week, NASCAR drivers should be making NBA, NFL money."

NASCAR does have one of the longest seasons out of all the major sports with the Daytona 500 kicking things off in late February and Championship Weekend wrapping up in late November. Driver moves and rule changes tend to extend into the regular season, given the offseason is only two months.

"The crew members deserve better working conditions than what they've got. We've got to hold these tracks to a higher standard, not only with the race surface but the fan experience, the team experience. That money has to be reinvested to give us a better product and something for fans to see."

Hamlin will suit up on Sunday for the NASCAR Playoffs Round of 12 opener at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Despite not winning a championship just yet, the 2016 Daytona 500 winner starts this round seventh in the standings and has wins at two of the upcoming tracks, Talladega and Kansas.