Maybe not for you, but it's pretty clearly about prestige for a good proportion of the "rising stars" that will actually get tenure track positions at large research universities. I suppose I can only speak directly for my own field, but I have friends in a few others that do not paint a rosy picture either.

If you think the majority of people in your current field are not optimizing for prestige (and you're past the mid-point of a PhD), I would love to know what field that is - seriously.