The NFL has handed out heavy fines to the Atlanta Falcons and their defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, over a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during last week’s draft.
The league fined Ulbrich $100,000 and the Falcons $250,000 for “failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL draft”.
Sanders was projected as a first- or second-round pick in this year’s draft but teams passed on him until the Cleveland Browns finally picked him in the fifth round. However, before Sanders was picked he received a call from someone claiming to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis suggesting his team would select the quarterback with their next pick.
On Sunday, Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, admitted he had written down Sanders’ number after seeing it on his father’s open iPad. Video emerged of Jax Ulbrich and a friend making the prank call to Sanders.
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” Jax Ulbrich wrote on Instagram in a message directed toward Sanders. “I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
The Falcons also apologized to Sanders, adding that Jeff Ulbrich “was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact”.
For his part, Sanders did not seem too concerned about the matter when he spoke about it on Saturday. “It didn’t really have an impact on me,” Sanders told reporters. “Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”
Sanders’s father is Deion Sanders, who played for the Falcons during his Hall of Fame NFL career and went on to coach Shedeur in college.
Sanders was not the only draft prospect who received a prank call during the draft. Fox Sports reported that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren received a call several picks before he was selected 14th overall by the Indianapolis Colts. Jax Ulbrich was not linked to the call to Warren.
