what i said is true for the companys that has two kinds of teams(flow,pro), other companys have only one kind of team and decid what each rider gets.
in the kgb case alex was the only one on their pro team while kimmo(was),pete brandt,raphael chiquet and other riders are on their flow team.
but dont forget people needs to live, take alex he lives in paris and the living cost their are in the sky and he have a child, theres a lot of riders in the world like alex that theres no reason they wont get money for promoting their sponsors.
look at haro they got really bad parts and if they wont have nyquist and mirra(untill now) for their reputation i think they would make a lot less money than their doing.