Doubt it's about his talent (even though he is very talented). Think it's more of a PR move. It'd look pretty bad for Mayer & Co if he ditched Yahoo in a couple months, and a ton of people would notice / company would get bad press. Keep him & you never have the negative press. Plus the scope of the negative press would dwarf the type of press this blurb is getting.
Question is, is the difference between the $81 million and the amount they would have paid him strictly for talent over the course of the contract justifiable on those PR grounds?
Question is, is the difference between the $81 million and the amount they would have paid him strictly for talent over the course of the contract justifiable on those PR grounds?