There seems to be a real split between people who would appreciate having players who are more loyal to the mission of BYU than solely to $$, and those who believe that players should just play for the highest bidder, whoever that might be. Do any of us literally just sell ourselves to the highest bidder in our professions? To give one example, I can tell you that many people (including me) choose lower paying jobs that have a better work-life balance. Happens all the time. 

For me personally, I would want my kids at a church school for their undergraduate education (whether they were an athlete or not), even if there were betters offers (with more $$) from places like Harvard or Duke or Columbia. The church has research on LDS kids who go to church schools versus non-church schools, and the outcomes for future church activity/participation are significantly worse for the latter group. That is not surprising, given what goes on at many schools. 

On top of the moral environment, most of the elite colleges now are absolute cesspools academically. People are starting to realize this. Speaking of Columbia University, they just announced that the school will be virtual-only today, because it has become so unsafe for Jewish students. The radicals that are being bred by these universities were mostly pretty normal kids when they arrived to campus at age 18, but by the time they leave four years later they are blocking highways to protest for Hamas. Does anyone really believe that the students at these schools are getting a real education and have gained critical thinking skills? 

BYU does offer those things, on top of the religious learning, and I think it is unique in what it offers. If you don't care about those things, then I don't have anything for you, but if you believe that college exists to provide more than just $$, then it should be pretty easy to understand why $$ should not be the only factor in where to attend school/play basketball. $$ are a factor, but not THE factor.