Here's Why the Bears Won't Receive Comp Picks for Losing Ian Cunningham to Falcons

The Bears won’t receive compensatory draft picks after Ian Cunningham’s move to Atlanta. Here’s the NFL rule that explains why.

Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears will not receive any compensatory 2026 or 2027 NFL draft picks following the departure of assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, and the reason has everything to do with how the NFL defines front-office authority.

When Cunningham was hired to become the next GM of the Atlanta Falcons, there was initial speculation that the Bears would receive third-round compensatory picks under the NFL's minority hiring resolution. The rule awards teams when minority candidates are hired into head-coach or primary-football executive roles. But in this case, the Bears didn't qualify.

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The key distinction comes down to the league's definition of "primary football executive." For a team to receive compensation, the hired candidate must assume final decision-making authority over football operations, essentially serving as the top executive in the building.

In Atlanta's case, that title doesn't belong to Cunningham.

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) on the sideline. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Matt Ryan currently serves as the organization's primary football executive, and because he holds final say over personnel matters, Cunningham's hire does not meet the NFL's threshold for compensatory draft picks.

"Here’s where it gets confusing," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote. "When the Falcons hired Fontenot to be the G.M. in 2022, the Saints (Fontenot’s former employer) received the compensatory picks. But Rich McKay was the team president and CEO — and as of 2022, he was involved in football operations."

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It's a frustrating development for Chicago Bears fans. The spirit of the minority hiring resolution is to incentivize upward mobility in leadership roles. But the letter of the rule is clear that only the hiring of a true top-of-the-franchise executive will result in compensatory picks.

The loss of Ian Cunningham will have a lingering impact inside Halas Hall. He played a significant role in Chicago's roster-building efforts under GM Ryan Poles and provided the kind of emotional balance that Poles needed inside the draft room at times.

Now, the Bears move forward without Cunningham and no compensatory picks.

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