If you say you're willing to accept an offer at 50K less than they had budgeted for, you just lost 50K.

For the right team and product I’m willing to give up $50k. I hate the incompetence associated with the software industry so much that I am happily working a temp job in management in a different industry on the other side of the world. The only thing stressful about this is knowing it’s temporary and when the party is over I have to go back to the corporate software job. I am considering doing absolutely anything else for half pay and letting the wife figure out how to make up the difference.

Are you me?

If things go that way, the headhunter lost their cut of that 50K. Instead, a good headhunter should have some idea of what the company is willing to pay.

For me, I find things usually go the other way. I could spend a lot of time working through the process, only to find out that I'm too expensive for the company. I don't need the frustration of working through the process at several companies just to find out that none of them will pay me.

I'm not a rock star. If they want to pay 50k over market they're expecting something in return. probably me not seeing my kids.

I think that’s highly unlikely to happen.