Boyd is over paid though so it’s unfair to use that as the measuring stick
True, but I do believe Daniher's contract is indeed well below what he'd get on the open market.
As for the compensation, without knowing many details of it (widely unreported in the media as some have said), I'm not sure what you expected Essendon or the AFL to do to avoid the situation.
They were paid as damages to the players, legal settlements made outside the parameters of the AFL. The AFL doesn't have jurisdiction in deciding what compensation is appropriate in this situation.
I suppose the AFL could have made all banned players DFA, thus no danger of compensation payments being made in lieu of contractual payments. Would have been a very controversial/bold move though, and I'm not sure the executive arm of the AFL is the sort to rock the boat with a decision like that.
Also, Mick Hurley and Cale Hooker are, IIRC, two of the most highly paid players at the club to this day. There were certainly whispers both were out the door during the year off, particularly links were made between Hurley and Footscray.
OP talked about this continuing to impact on the competition, well both were down on form in 2018 too, meaning their play is likely in line with their pay.