There are products at different price points on the market, for example this 55x55mm switch from my company Brainboxes[1] is sub $50. We choose that size so that we could also produce a gigabit option with the exact same footprint. We opted for microMatch[2] style connectors as you can get board to board as well as board to cable options.
Your co-leads decision to buy-in is quite common, as you can reduce time to market and also not have to manage the component lifecycle if you go with an off the shelf option.
[1] https://www.brainboxes.com/product/pure-embedded/pe-505
[2] https://www.te.com/en/products/brands/micro-match.html?tab=p...