The Chicago Bears expected to lose Ian Cunningham this offseason… What they didn’t expect to lose was the compensation that normally comes with it.
Cunningham, Chicago’s assistant general manager, was hired by the Atlanta Falcons to become their general manager, typically the exact scenario the NFL’s diversity hiring incentive was designed for.
Under the league’s Rooney Rule incentive structure, teams that develop minority executives who become GMs or head coaches elsewhere receive two third-round compensatory picks across the next two drafts. But there’s a catch.
Because Atlanta hired former quarterback Matt Ryan as President of Football Operations (the role the league considers the organization’s top football authority), the NFL currently does not view Cunningham as the primary decision-maker. And without that designation, the Bears would receive nothing. That technicality has become the center of controversy.
A promotion that apparently isn’t one
GettyBears Head Coach Ben Johnson
Matt Ryan himself has stated the GM will control roster decisions and operate as a normal general manager.
“I’m not doing the scouting,” Ryan said. “I’m not running those meetings. The general manager role is going to be exactly the same as what it’s been here before. And that’s something we made clear to everybody.”
If “the general manager role is going to be exactly the same as what it’s been here before,” the ruling feels impossible to understand. Around the league, reaction has ranged from measured disagreement to outright anger.
Some analysts argued the Chicago Bears should challenge the ruling, saying the structure doesn’t align with the intent of incentivizing promotions. Others warned the decision could create a loophole allowing teams to avoid compensatory picks simply by inserting a higher-ranking executive title above the GM.
Several commentators emphasized multiple truths can exist at once: Cunningham deserves the job, Chicago did the right thing by letting him go, and the league should still honor the incentive it created.
But the common thread across reactions was uncertainty: if this situation doesn’t qualify, what does?
Why it matters for Chicago
GettyBears QB Caleb Williams
It’s not like the Chicago Bears are arguing over some late-round flyer. Two third-round selections are premium roster-building assets, especially for a team coming off a playoff run and entering a window where cheap young contributors matter.
Chicago’s rebuild under Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren has reached the stage where depth pieces can determine whether a team contends or plateaus. Losing a respected executive hurts. Losing the picks expected to offset that loss hurts more.
And perhaps most importantly, this could become the first real test of the league’s diversity incentive system since teams began planning around it. Cause the controversy now extends beyond Chicago.
If organizational titles can negate compensation despite identical responsibilities, teams across the NFL will reconsider how the rule functions (or whether it functions at all).
The Rooney Rule incentives were designed to reward organizations for developing minority leadership candidates. The Bears did exactly that. The current interpretation suggests structure may matter more than outcome.
The NFL still hasn’t formally announced compensatory selections, meaning the story isn’t finished. The league could clarify or adjust its stance. But until then, the debate continues.
NFL Facing Criticism Over Controversial Bears Ruling