Usually during an acquisition like this, the key staff are paid out after two years on board the new company. So not a non-compete, but an incentive to stay and get their payout.

Most staff with no equity will leave quickly of course, so the invalidity of non compete will definitely help those souls.

"golden handcuffs" they call them.

Ban isn’t yet in effect and would have started discussions a while back. Plus, FTC ban is already being litigated by business groups, unsurprisingly.