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Happy birthday Saal! Stay fabulous.

Happy birthday Saal!

Happy birthday Saal!!

Happy birthday man!

Happy Birthday!

Happpy Birthday

Happy Birthday

While I can't give you the legal lawyer-ese insight, i can give you the business world insight. The reason for the big number is the poaching allegations. It's well known in the business world that if you're going to breach a non-compete (which in many cases aren't even 100% enforceable due to state employment laws depending on which state you worked in / will work in), you do it quietly and keep your mouth shut. Do that, and even if the firm that you're technically breaching the contract with won't come after you. Or at most they ask your new firm for a small concession of some sort. Very much a backroom handshake deal and the issue goes away. But when you get caught poaching employees from your old gig... that's when the big numbers and big guns and big lawyers come out. No company takes kindly to someone messing with their talent stream. That's the reason this all came out as well. It's a warning that this guy poaches developers from other places to the rest of the industry. He didn't play by the unwritten rules, and his old firm wants the rest of the industry to know that. That's also the reason you're seeing the huge number. Poaching talent is a far bigger crime than merely breaching your own non-compete. TL;DR - merely breaching his non-compete isn't why this is a big deal. Poaching former talent is why this is a big deal and why the big number came out.