The NFL seems to have a prank-calling problem during the draft. Several players reported getting such calls, including Mason Graham, Abdul Carter, Tyler Warren, and most notably, Shedeur Sanders. That’s why fans on Twitter are proposing a new solution to circumvent the issue.
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Getting pranked on your draft day is just flat-out awful. It goes without saying, and the people who have been doing it should be ashamed of themselves. Thankfully, we’ve already found one of the prank callers, as Jeff Ulbrich’s son was exposed in a video recently. In response, the NFL fined the team Ulbrich works for, the Atlanta Falcons, $250k. They also fined Ulbrich $100k, and rightfully so.
But how do we ensure that prank calls don’t happen again in the 2026 NFL Draft? To prevent this from happening, an NFL fan on Twitter proposed that they should follow the NHL method.
“Solution: don’t call players before the selection. Let them watch the pick live or on TV, get an awesome reaction on camera, and then have teams call the player after to congratulate them,” the fan suggested.
When it comes to the NHL, prospects will watch on TV first and then react without being called by the team beforehand. It has made for some great organic reactions, like when Beckett Sennecke was drafted in 2024. The NFL should consider copying the model.
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But the fan reaction to the suggestion on Instagram was a bit mixed. DeVante Parker, a former NFL wide receiver for the Patriots and Dolphins, even expressed his opinion.
“Nah I wanna know where I’m going. CALL ME,” Parker commented.
— Semper (@Semper152892) May 1, 2025
Others had simpler, and maybe even better, suggestions.
“This, or just give players a list of official phone numbers,” someone chimed in.
“Just have the players’ agents handle all communication between teams and players,” another suggested.
One fan even made quite a funny joke.
“Have them just scroll Instagram, the pick is on there 5 minutes before it’s on television,” the fan wrote.
The most notable prank call during the 2025 NFL Draft was definitely Shedeur’s. Since he was falling way below where we expected him to get drafted, and it was live-streamed, the entire sequence went viral. Nevertheless, Shedeur took the prank call in stride and didn’t let it get to him. Later on, he was selected by the Browns in the 5th round.
So, the ball is in your court, NFL and Roger Goodell. Are you going to do something about this? Or are you going to simply fine teams?
