The NFL has spoken. And there’s nothing the Bears can do about it.
They tried. Chicago appealed the decision to not award the team a pair of third-round compensatory draft picks following the hiring of former Bears assistant General Manager Ian Cunningham as the new General Manager of the Falcons. On Friday, the league issued its final ruling.
“The matter is now closed following the club’s appeal,” the league said, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. “The NFL informed the Bears today they will not receive compensatory picks. The policy is designed to provide picks for the Primary Football Executive position. The League determined Mr. Cunningham did not fill that role with the Falcons as it is defined in League rules.”
That was the explanation the NFL provided when the issue first emerged. During Super Bowl week, new Falcons president of football Matt Ryan made it clear that Cunningham runs free agency and the draft. The league said Ryan, not Cunningham, is nevertheless the primary football executive.
Earlier this week, Ryan said on PFT Live that Cunningham is the Atlanta G.M. “I think in every facet of the word, Ian’s a General Manager in this league,” Ryan said.
The Bears’ effort to change the NFL’s mind included a trip by owner George McCaskey, team president and CEO Kevin Warren, and G.M. Ryan Poles to New York for a visit with Commissioner Roger Goodell. It ultimately didn’t matter.
It’s no surprise. The league would have had to admit it got it wrong in the first place. Throw in the recent assault on the Rooney Rule by the Florida attorney general, and a decision to give the Bears the picks would have created a potential political problem for the league — possibly in the form of a late-night social-media assault focusing on something other than the new kickoff formation.
Read the full article here
