NFL Denies Bears Compensatory Picks for Cunningham

On April 3rd, Chicago Bears just got hit with the final word from the NFL on those compensatory

draft picks they chased for months.

After Ian Cunningham jumped from their assistant GM spot to General Manager with the Atlanta

Falcons, the Bears thought they deserved to pick under.

The Rooney Rule for losing a minority executive to a promotion.

But the league shut it down for good on Friday.

The NFL stuck to their original call, saying Cunningham doesn't qualify as the primary

football executive in Atlanta.

They point to the team's president of football operations, who holds that title per league

rules.

No budge even after the Bears appealed hard.

Fans and folks in the league expected those picks because we've seen them awarded before

in similar spots.

The Falcons even backed the Bears' view, with their president admitting Cunningham runs

scouting in meetings, not him.

Still, the league held firm.

Bears kept pushing the issue right through the owner's meetings this week, even after

the compick list dropped.

But it was all for nothing.

The appeal got denied flat out.

Now the doors shut on this one, leaving Chicago without those extra selections heading

into the draft.

Tough break, but that's the league's word.

That's the story for today, NFL News Today, driven by AI.