is private businesses/boosters. BYU does have some say of course with how NIL money received is distributed etc. But NIL money is not coming directly from the school.

To the OP's point, NIL is supposed to allow players to make money of of their Name, image and likeness. Caitlyn Clark is a great example of this. Unfortunately really, NIL is being used as an excuse for boosters to pay to get great players without really any care at all if they actually provide a value to the booster or business.

It really is in many, many cases pay for play.

The OP also brings up a great point. Why not let the schools just pay the players part of the profits made from ticket sales, concessions, TV money, etc.?