Typical DL opaque/intentionally obtuse move; they might as well have just eliminated the waiver like UA did for 1K.
That said, as a "steady" PM, this will probably incrementally improve my upgrade chances if just one or two former DMs on my same flights with the same low-ish fare buckets as me are now PMs. This is especially true if they drop their Reserve cards. I think many of us have been Bubble Boy/Girl enough to know that a small incremental change can make the difference.