The Atlanta Falcons made a splash in their front office this offseason, bringing in former Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham to succeed Terry Fontenot. On paper, it looks like a straightforward move-Cunningham steps into a general manager role, and the Bears, under the NFL’s Rooney Rule incentives, would receive a pair of third-round compensatory picks for developing a minority candidate who earned a promotion. But here’s where things get murky.
Despite Cunningham taking over GM duties, the NFL has clarified that he won’t be considered the team’s “primary football executive.” That distinction goes to Matt Ryan-yes, that Matt Ryan-who was recently hired as the Falcons’ president of football operations.
The league confirmed this in an email, stating: “The policy for receiving picks pertains to the head coach or the primary football executive. The primary football executive position was filled by Matt Ryan.”
So even though Cunningham is stepping into a prominent leadership role, the Bears won’t be getting those compensatory picks. Why?
Because under the league’s policy, only promotions to head coach or the top football decision-maker qualify for the draft pick reward. And in Atlanta, that’s Ryan.
But here’s where the lines start to blur.
Last week, Ryan himself told reporters that Cunningham will be the one steering the ship when it comes to roster building. “He’s in charge of that space,” Ryan said.
“He is driving this boat, and he’s the one leading us moving forward. This is Ian’s regular season right now, and he is in it; he is driving the ship right now.”
That sure sounds like the person making the football decisions, doesn’t it?
Ryan’s comments raised a legitimate question: If Cunningham is leading free agency and the draft, doesn’t that make him the de facto primary football executive? The NFL says no-and from a policy standpoint, the league’s answer is final. But the optics are complicated.
Especially when you look at recent history.
Back in 2022, when the Falcons hired Terry Fontenot from the Saints to be their general manager, New Orleans did receive the compensatory picks. And at that time, Rich McKay was still in the building as team president and CEO-and involved in football operations. So why did the Saints get rewarded then, but the Bears don’t now?
That’s the question still hanging in the air. The structure in Atlanta hasn’t changed dramatically-there’s still a team president with football oversight, and a general manager handling the day-to-day roster decisions.
The roles look similar. The results, in terms of compensatory picks, don’t.
The NFL’s policy is clear in language but leaves a lot of room for interpretation in application. Who holds the title is one thing.
Who holds the power is another. And in this case, even though Cunningham is reportedly running point on personnel decisions, the league has drawn a hard line: Matt Ryan holds the top football title, and that’s what matters.
For now, the Bears are left without the extra draft capital they might’ve expected. And the Falcons move forward with a new leadership duo-Ryan at the top, and Cunningham calling the shots in the trenches.
It’s a reminder that in the NFL, job titles don’t always tell the full story.