Slick Mick

I'm adding a few custom fighters for my next playthrough and i'm stuck on assigning Backgrounds. The help file says "The Background Attributes are used when creating the upper limits for each fighter's skills." Can somebody unpack how that works? What happens if a pre-Peak-Age fighter starts the game with skills already over the limits imposed by their Backgrounds? Would they be unable to improve, actually start declining right away, or what? Also, does anybody have a rough idea of the numerical ranges allowed by the different levels? I've searched all through the forum and the few times this comes up everybody seems to already understand it. Much appreciate any help.

If i have a worker signed to a PPA contract, and his only involvement in the show is an <em>offscreen</em> appearance in an angle, do i still have to pay him?