Maybe- but with the whole Youth Sports boom- Travel this/ Select that/ "Showcases" around the country- there could well be people who would pay for their kid to get their shot at DI.
Our high school has a football player who is a current DI Preferred walk on paying full tuition at a large conference school. He chose that over some smaller places that offered him money (waiving out of state tuition fee) but for FCS teams.
Those roadside Hampton Inns (and every other brand) have made a mint off of Travel sports. At what point do parents realize that their kid ISN'T D I Scholly material and just save the $ and pay for college themselves??????
Typical delusional folks don't see what those of us like Bison who are around these little vignettes year after year do. Division I athletes are SPECIAL. You see it early- at the latest 10th grade. They are head and shoulders above their competition but it is even more than that. They have a PRESENCE- along with the Size/Skills etc. Usually their heads are screwed on pretty well, and they have a family/mentor who is guiding them away from the pratfalls.
Some kids grow into the role- like a Shane Conlan from back in my day. Each year at the Super Bowl they always show where players went to college. Many are NOT premier programs. So they were late bloomers or those who slipped through cracks.
But you are probably right- money talks- and those who have spent it to get to the point of possibly achieving whatever professional goal they are shooting for- see $ as their "right."