Bears comp picks
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 24: General Manager Ian Cunningham of the Atlanta Falcons speaks to the media during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 24, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bears saw assistant general manager Ian Cunningham leave to become the GM of the Atlanta Falcons, and Bears fans were under the impression that Chicago would receive two third-round comp picks as part of the Rooney Rule.
The Rooney rule states, “In November 2020, team owners approved a proposal rewarding teams who developed minority talent that went on to become GMs or head coaches across the league. If a team lost a minority executive or coach to another team, that team would receive a third-round compensatory pick for two years.”
Monday, March 9th, the NFL announced the full list of this year’s compensatory draft picks handed out to teams across the league, and the Bears were nowhere to be seen, sparking outrage on social media.
Bears Sought Out Comp Picks for Falcons Hiring Ian Cunningham
This has been a long process, and the Bears sought out comp picks for Atlanta hiring Cunningham.
“Cunningham, who is Black, was the assistant general manager in Chicago from 2022 to 2025,” ESPN’s Courtney Cronin wrote. “He was hired by the Falcons as their general manager on Jan. 29, but because Matt Ryan — Atlanta’s president of football — is considered the team’s primary football executive, the Bears are not in line to receive draft compensation after his departure.”
“I kind of put that whole thing into two buckets,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. “One, I’m really proud that Ian has this opportunity to be a general manager. It’s something we’ve talked about for a long time, before we were even employed by the Bears. It was our vision to climb through the ranks, to get a seat, the GM seat and then help the other one get to their position as well. So I’m really happy for him. How we do that and why we do that has nothing to do with compensation whatsoever. I want to make that very clear. There’s a set of rules that has been put in place that I think can be applied to this situation. So we have communicated through the right channels. We’ll see what happens going forward.”
Despite Poles’ efforts to go through the ‘right channels,’ the Bears were not given any comp picks.
Cunningham also believed the Bears should have received comp picks.
“It was always my interpretation that if a general manager gets hired, that team would receive two third-round picks. I’m the general manager. I was hired. I would think that they would get two third-round picks.”
Cronin also had this to say when news broke that the Bears won’t be receiving any comp picks.
“The Bears were loud in the right places (public media settings with maximum visibility at the combine) regarding how they felt wronged by the NFL’s decision to not award comp picks for Ian Cunningham’s departure. It goes against the spirit of what the Rooney Rule is supposed to be about (promoting minority advancement in coaching and front office positions). The NFL was adamant in January that it wasn’t something that could be appealed but the Bears tried anyways. Can’t fault them for their attempt, but fall out from this should lead to a real conversation about the rule in the first place and how poorly this reflects back on the league.”
Bears Fans React
Bears fans have a right to be upset, and they voiced that on X.
“NFL not awarding the Bears comp picks for Ian Cunningham’s departure, is pretty nuts. Bears are truly getting screwed even when they could have blocked the move.” @davebftv
“The NFL released it comp picks and the #Bears get NONE. Unreal.” @JAYChi_Bears
“Bears snubbed. Unreal” @Caleb2DJ
“No comp picks for the Bears for Ian Cunningham. Unbelievable.” @HGrahamNFL
There will need to be a serious conversation going forward on the sincerity of the Rooney Rule and why the Bears were not given any comp picks.