It's a matter of the difference between when they are granted versus when you receive them. If I tell you I'm going to give you $100k cash in 4 years, that's w

It's a matter of the difference between when they are granted versus when you receive them. If I tell you I'm going to give you $100k cash in 4 years, that's wildly different from if I tell you that in 4 years I'm going to give you stock purchased at today's price for $100k. Yes, the upside relies on the stock going up, but that upside can change things quite a bit.