Yeah the downside is huge. I hope there was a way to reward engineering teams too for sales commission.. have you come across any company that doso?
I have seen sales people get *recurring* commissions --- where they get a piece of every future sale to a particular client. Even if they have no involvement in the purchase. In extreme cases, they make good money doing nothing.
Engineers never get paid for doing nothing --- because they are not members of the ruling class.