I'd assume that between A and B, someone took them aside and said "are you insane, new grads in Seattle can get $90k filling CRUD tickets, you're never going to keep anyone even halfway decent for $48k."

Fair warning: this is probably indicative of their overall experience level at running a business & a team, which may tell you a few things about the ride you'll be in for with them (as opposed to any of the numerous other places in Seattle which would be happy to take you).