Once while even more newbish than I still am, I posted q's about FI pricing and unawares what I was talking about suggested some of the prices being thrown around seemed excessive. Laughs and you don't know what you're talking about followed. Since then, I'm more convinced than ever that outlandish FI salaries is a well orchestrated conspiracy theory.
They might not be #1 or 2 or 3 on the available FI FA board (sometimes they are), but even at #'s 4 or 5 or 6 my four most recent FI new hires who've been with me for 7 seasons with starting rates of 86, 84, 84, 80, all for $2M or less. If you're diligent about the cycles and incremental raise wars, it's possible.
Also, as damag was kind enough to let everyone else in on the secret, they might have other attributes which after they out price themselves from my FI budget could possibly be retained as a capable less expensive ML Big3 other coach.
I don't know if my saving $2M+ or someone else losing $2M+ on a coach significantly helps me/hurts them elsewhere, but I like my evolution in this area. My top position prospects aren't hurting for regular fielding rate bumps.