There are many good ADs (L2s) still around that will never get promoted to L3. That has been a very rare thing for the last 10 years or so (with small exception a few years back when we saw more POC slotted into those roles). Please don’t take that the wrong way; us white dudes had our run, I get that.
Just saying that you could be the most capable squared away 40-50 something year old white dude going, and it just ain’t gonna happen for you. It is what it is. There were too many L3s anyway.
And the L3s do nothing but report up on the work their ADs team is doing. Why do they deserve the enhanced compensation just for that?