The Chicago Bears were hoping to gain extra draft compensation after losing a key member of the front office this offseason.
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Former assistant manager Ian Cunningham left for the open general manager job of the Atlanta Falcons. Via the Rooney Rule, the Bears were expected to gain two third-round compensatory picks for losing Cunningham.
One problem: The general manager title for the Falcons is not the top football executive for the team.
Matt Ryan holds the top football executive title with the newly created president of football.
Per the NFL, the Bears are not one of the 15 league teams that will earn a compensatory pick for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Following the league’s decision not to award the Bears draft capital for Cunningham, fans took to social media vent about the outcome.
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“This will effectively end the Rooney Rule. Teams will do exactly what the Falcons did,” wrote a fan.
“So the NFL doesn’t actually care about promoting the hiring of minority candidates, got it. All you have to do now to stop a rival team from getting comp picks is create some fake job and hire a former player to fill the role,” posted another.
“This is nonsense,” argued a fan. “They just defecated all over the rule. But of course the league favorites are all awarded picks. Happens every year. Hopefully a Bears fan files a lawsuit against the NFL. This decision impacts competitive advantage.”
“How is this possible?” asked a poster. “Both sides agree that the criteria for comp picks was clearly met, in substance if not in name. Does the league release ANY statements / info regarding their decision? Do they disclose the parties they spoke with during the process of deciding the appeal?”
“Maybe Goodell can give Poles a nice fruit basket as a sorry when every team starts hiring “ceo of football” positions to block conference rivals from getting comp picks,” wrote another.
“Everybody knows this a bad call. If you’re committed to minority hiring you investigate and make the right call. The league looked at an org chart and said no. Pathetic,” posted another.
It’ll be interesting to see how the league handles this situation in the future. One would wonder more teams will copy the Falcons new president of football position.
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Chicago Bears receive bad news with 2026 NFL Draft
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