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I have a Bad boy Outlaw 72" and the book calls for part number 038-7230-00 which is a 2.5"x 24" blade, my question is have anyone ever used a longer blade that worked, these blades are harder to find than the 24 1/2" blades

You can not fit a longer blade because they will hit each other .
You can cut a longer blade shorter but it must be balanced carefully .

am I missing something?

Rotary #6404
Rotary #6833
Your local Hustler and Dixie Chopper dealers should have some that will fit.

There is only 1 x 24" blade listed in the catalogues from my 3 wholesalers
Well to be honest the exact OEM replacement & a gator style ( or genuine Gator in a couple of variants )
Looks like only Hustler & Bad Boy & Dixie use an strait 24" blade on their 72" deck which means either it actually is 71" or they have no overlap so will be prone to rooster tailing.
And even then, one is 2.5" & the other is 3"
OTOH there is 1/2 page of blades from 24.125" through to 24.5"
Add to that there is quite a price difference and most of the longer blades are substantially cheaper .