The 2025 NFL Draft was supposed to be a defining night in Shedeur Sanders’ young career. Heading into the big day, the widespread belief was that his phone would ring early in the first round. But as it turned out, the former Buffs star didn’t get the call until the fifth round. Before that, though, he did receive a call — just not from who he expected.
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It was a prank call. Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, falsely told Sanders that the Saints were about to select him. He pulled off the stunt by grabbing Sanders’ private number from his father’s open iPad.
The call naturally sparked confusion, speculation, and outrage. Especially as video clips of other prank calls to top prospects began surfacing online. Then it led to Jax Ulbrich issuing a public apology to Shedeur on Instagram, shortly after news broke of him being the perpetrator.
“Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” he wrote. “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment… Thank you for accepting my call earlier today. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
The Atlanta Falcons also issued a formal statement, clarifying that Jeff Ulbrich had no knowledge of the prank or the data breach, and that Jax had acted alone while visiting his parents’ home. Still, the damage was done — not just to Sanders’ experience, but to the NFL’s image on draft night.
And today, the league has responded with justice. As per latest reports, the NFL has fined the Atlanta Falcons $250,000 and hit Jeff Ulbrich with a personal $100,000 penalty, citing a breach of internal security and responsibility over player data.
“We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure,” the Falcons said in a follow-up statement to CNN. “We were proactive in addressing the situation internally… and accept the discipline levied.”
The team also noted that the Ulbrich family would participate in community service initiatives as part of the fallout.
Naturally, fans were happy to see justice prevail. Hilariously enough, they decided to give this fine their own twist by calling it the “most expensive prank call of all time”. “That’s a pricey prank,” joked another.
Rest of the angry fans, however, weren’t happy with the fined amount. In their eyes, Ulbrich’s son deserved a bigger monetary penalty. “I’ve seen players get fined more for lesser. Not enough,” wrote one internet user. “Should have been in the millions of dollars,” outrageously chimed in another.
Should have been in the millions of dollars.
— Build-A-Bear Elmo’s Thoughts (@A_Ron1991) April 30, 2025
As aforementioned, Shedeur Sanders wasn’t the only target, either. Reports later confirmed that prank calls were also made to other high-profile draft prospects, including Michigan’s Mason Graham and Penn State’s Tyler Warren.
Graham’s father even revealed that the harassment was so aggressive that someone made a TikTok video which highlighted his son’s number, leading to nonstop calls throughout the night.
While the ones behind the other pranks remain unknown for now, it’s encouraging to see the person behind Shedeur Sanders’ prank appropriately fined. Most importantly, it showed how quickly a moment meant for dreams can be disrupted by a joke taken too far — and how the league, to its credit, knew it couldn’t laugh this one off.
