Bob, that hasn't changed, TSA is a government agency, they couldn'tgive a damn whether you paid or not
i've never brought a bike on board from my home airport so not sure what their reaction would be

my photo contribution was from a fellow who paid $12 to get early boarding that's why it looks empty

I'm fortunate to have gold status on most planes I board so, I likely have enough space to stow a bike
business class is usually empty on the overheads