INDIANAPOLIS — If the Bears and Falcons agree that the Bears should get compensatory draft picks for the Falcons hiring former Bears executive Ian Cunningham as their general manager last month, it should be pretty straightforward.
It’s not, of course.
While the NFL gives a team two third-round picks when another team hires one of its minority staffers as general manager, it said the Bears will not get one for Cunningham, who is Black, because Falcons president of football Matt Ryan has final authority on personnel decisions.
The Bears are appealing that, general manager Ryan Poles said, and Cunningham is on their side in that dispute.
“It was always my interpretation that if a general manager gets hired, that team would receive two third-round picks,” he said Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, though he acknowledged he hasn’t spent much time parsing the rule. “I’m the general manager. I was hired. I would think that they would get two third-round picks.
“That’s just my perspective. I wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for them giving me that job and helping me grow to get this job.”
Cunningham worked as assistant general manager from 2022 through last season. The Falcons hired him Jan. 29, and the Bears promoted Jeff King to his former spot.
If the NFL reverses its position, the Bears would receive a compensatory third-round pick this year and next. While Poles was clear that has nothing to do with supporting Cunningham’s career advancement, he believed the Bears should get the benefit of the policy.
“I’m really proud that Ian has an opportunity to be a general manager — something we’ve talked about for a long time,” Poles said. “How we [developed and supported him] and why we do that has nothing to do with comp whatsoever, and I want to make that very clear.
“On the other side of it, there’s a set of rules that were put in place that can be applied to this situation. So we’ve communicated through the right channels, so we’ll see what happens.”
As of now, the Bears have one pick in each of the first three rounds, beginning at No. 25 overall.
