I very much doubt it'd be a problem. OpenAI's valuation is such a large multiple of NYT that they can afford to buy out a dozen or so publishers of NYT's valuat

I very much doubt it'd be a problem. OpenAI's valuation is such a large multiple of NYT that they can afford to buy out a dozen or so publishers of NYT's valuation to get content to replace (or "just" license content from far more) if NYT itself isn't willing to play ball cheaply enough. The NYT might be better than average, but it's not so special that you can't replace it. The long-term effect if NYT wins this case will be that the "established" players and companies with deep pockets will get a massive moat protecting them against open models and new entrants - in the long run it might well be well worth whatever a loss will cost them.