Root is paid first

When an owner changes the split, root stakers keep what they earn.

On every subnet, root is paid first out of the validators' share. Each block, the chain works out what root would earn on that subnet under the old 41% split, and pays root exactly that. This is root's baseline. It still moves with the amount staked on root and the subnet's alpha supply, as it always has.

So an owner who cuts the validators' share leaves root alone. The cut comes out of what is left for validators who hold alpha, and for the people staking alpha behind them. Whatever the owner takes from that share goes to miners or to the owner.

The chain refuses a validator share at or below root's baseline. The baseline can grow over time, so a low share can later leave alpha validators with nothing until the owner raises it.