Drafted by... OpenAI?
Welcome to Tech’s Quiet Free Agency Era. I'm dressing the part just in case.
When I think of crazy contracts, my brain goes to NBA free agency.
Or NFL signing day.
Or Justin Bieber selling his music catalog for $200 million.
But recently, I learned that the AI race kind of has a draft.
And salaries that are fully giving LeBron + equity.
Let me explain.
🧠 AI Has a Talent War.
The biggest AI companies (OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google) aren’t just competing on products.
They’re going after each other’s people.
Why?
Because there aren’t that many humans on Earth who can actually build this stuff.
Same way there aren’t that many who can play in the NFL—
but that’s never stopped a sports bar full of guys from screaming like they could’ve caught that pass themselves (:
🔁 Tech Free Agency Is Real
The AI companies are at war and they’re not playing nice.
Top researchers are getting scouted, poached, and signed like star athletes.
The reported offers?
We’re talkin 9 figure compensation packages.
Not for the C-suite.
Not to go public.
Just to switch jerseys.
They’re treating researchers like franchise players. Throwing private jet money at coders who don’t even have profile pictures.
💬 Enter Zuck
Zuckerberg is taking a page out of the Duke playbook. Trying to win a championship by throwing money at top talent.
He’s running Meta like the highest-paid team in techball. If AI had a salary cap, they’d be way over it.
He says he’s building open-source models and playing the long game.
But it’s giving villain arc and fuckboy era. Mwahahahahahaha
🏀 Not So Different From the Majors
Obviously my mind brings everything back to sports, so the way I see it, they’re really not that different.
A few things AI and pro sports have in common:
You’re paid for what you might do, not what you’ve already done
Loyalty lasts as long as the money does
Everyone’s watching even if they don’t understand the game
💸 The Invisible Rich
I grew up thinking “making it” meant being visible. Having a following. Doing press.
But now we’re watching the rise of the invisible rich.
No jerseys.
No highlight reels.
No Spotify Wrapped.
Just ten million dollars to quietly change the future of the internet.
***Small request though… maybe with a few of those millions, can work on ChatGPT’s em dash obsession?