The Chicago Bears will not receive draft pick compensation after losing former assistant general manager Ian Cunningham to the Atlanta Falcons’ GM vacancy, the NFL announced Friday.

“The matter is now closed following the club’s appeal. The NFL informed the Bears today they will not receive compensatory picks,” the league said in a statement shared by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“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.”

The NFL originally ruled on March 9 that the Bears would not receive any compensatory picks, indicating the league sees Falcons president of football Matt Ryan and not Cunningham as the club’s primary football executive, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Chicago appealed that initial decision, which is now final, per Rapoport.

The Bears were seeking compensation under the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which allots teams third-round picks in consecutive drafts if one of their minority coaches or executives is hired by another team.

The rule specifically states a team can receive compensation only if their employee is hired “as either a head coach or primary football executive.” The split between the NFL and the Bears apparently hinges on the word “primary.”

Bears general manager Ryan Poles had told reporters back at the NFL scouting combine in February he felt the policy was “a little strange,” but that he felt the Bears should benefit from it under current rules.

“At the end of the day, that’s not the purpose of why we develop our staff, but if that’s the rule they have in place, then I think it’s very clear in this situation what should happen,” Poles said in February.

ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reported earlier this week that Bears president Kevin Warren, chairman George McCaskey and Poles had recently met with commissioner Roger Goodell in order to make their case.

Ryan seemingly helped the Bears’ case on Monday, when he told NBC Sports’ Mike Florio that Cunningham was unquestionably the Falcons’ general manager.

“I mean you talk about things that are coming on your desk every day, management council things, different things like that, why they rule certain ways, why they don’t rule certain ways. I’m not experienced enough to give you a really credible answer on that at this point,” Ryan said Monday, per Florio. “I would say this, I think in every facet of the word, Ian’s a general manager in this league.”

Regardless of the role Cunningham is set to play in constructing the Falcons’ roster, the Bears will head into the 2026 NFL draft with seven draft picks rather than the eight they were hoping for.

Chicago is set to select four times in the first three rounds, with their first pick coming at No. 25, when the 2026 NFL draft begins April 23 in Pittsburgh.