Yes exactly this. I had the same experience a few months ago. I interviewed and got a great offer. My company countered with "how about we match the offer AND

Yes exactly this. I had the same experience a few months ago. I interviewed and got a great offer. My company countered with "how about we match the offer AND you get to work on whatever you want". I decided to decline the offer (and stay put) and the recruiter's boss actually called me and tried to pressure and guilt me into taking the offer. I kept saying to him that it's unreasonable for him to expect me to take offers just because they exist and that he should know better than most that this is a possible outcome when recruiting. I get the argument that there's money on the line, but there was money on the line for everyone involved. A recruiter should be mindful of the risks so they aren't devastated by the inevitable unwanted outcomes.