If anyone thinks they actually care what the athletes think then they haven’t been paying attention. That’s just PR. Money is driving all this. Why were bowl games started? Money. Why were conference championship games started? Money. BCS? Money. 4 teams? Money.
And that is how it should be. None of this stuff is essential so money is the only reason no matter what they say.
You're not wrong. My observation is just that the NCAA has been profiting off the backs of free labor for decades, and the charade of "students first, athletes second" has gotten as thin and transparent as cling-wrap. So has the notion that this is a fair competition. No NFL team makes the playoffs over a division rival with more wins because its fanbase has more loose cash to buy tickets and t-shirts. Yet that is exactly what just happened for Ohio State over Cincinnati. It also happened for Ohio State over TCU in the first CFP, where TCU was #3, won their last game, and dropped to #5 in the committee.
I have no issue with the NCAA running itself as a profit-maximizing business, as long as they're honest about it to the workers on whom they depend. The notions of amateurism and fairness are a big part of how the NCAA markets itself, and it's fraudulent.