But if your contract with the "non-employee" says that they may not work for any employer for n years or that they may not use what they learned from working at your business elsewhere then I say they deserve compensation.

It is obvious to me that if you want an employee to not work for someone else, you need to pay them the same as if they're working for you. This is how things work at the executive level. This is how it should work for everyone. It is the least we can do.