Many are cooking for "the money" as you state, but when part of your business/livelihood is mixed into the equation why not use tried and true products? To answer your question I'm cooking to do as good as I can and whatever can help me to do that I'm all for. Deep down inside it bothers me none. Am I working on my own sauces and rubs, yes. But in the mean time getting a better edge starting out can really help as opposed to waiting for a sauce/rub I make to finally hit the taste it needs to win.
These might not be the best analogies, but I tried to think of some things that may be somewhat similar to the point I think you are trying to make. Is a professional fisherman who does not use gear he made less skilled or less accomplished when he wins. Are great local restaurants who man buy bread locally from a great bakery, don't grown their own veggies or gets their chicken from a local farm they like to do business with not as good as someone who makes everything in house? Even if it greatly pleases their customers?
You asked. "Yes I know some of them make a ton of money and you can't argue with that but are you. Probably not." I don't think you can accurately make any assumption here without telling us what you define as "a ton of money". For some simply breaking even over the year could be considered being successful and from many teams I've talked with can be hard.
So all things being relative in the competition bbq world if you win what you spent during that year, that could be considered a ton of money. Especially for people looking for advertising/publicity they look at competing as part of their business whether it be a large restaurant or local catering company. If they spend $20-$30K (and probably way more for some) and make that back they would break even, which of course isn't a good business model, but if looked at as a marketing expense then they got all that exposure for "free". I put free in quotes because certainly a persons time needs to be factored in here and I can't calculate that for everyone.
A non loaded question......What is your goal with competition bbq? Just to compete for fun as a hobby/passion, or do you have a business tied into it as well?