I did this this year. My old employer admitted they had probably fallen behind the market and that "those numbers were definitely reachable here, after a few ye

I did this this year. My old employer admitted they had probably fallen behind the market and that "those numbers were definitely reachable here, after a few years, and further significant impactful contributions to projects like X, Y, Z". By my reckoning they were a good 3-4 years away. They expressed that they wanted me to stay but at the end of the day it was crocodile tears.