The draft-day prank call to Shadeur Sanders that went viral on social media was made by the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
The Falcons released a statement detailing the involvement of 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich in the incident, which occurred during Day 2 of the NFL draft on Friday. Video showed Sanders, the Colorado quarterback who was waiting to be selected by a team before he ultimately slipped to the fifth round, receiving a phone call on his private number. A caller impersonating New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told Sanders the team would be drafting him with their next pick.
The Falcons said Jax Ulbrich obtained Sanders’ draft contact phone number off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and later used it to make the prank call.
Falcons’ statement on the involvement of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son, Jax, in the draft weekend prank call to Shedeur Sanders: pic.twitter.com/PgSxURroaY
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2025
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send out sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family,” the team said in a statement posted on social media.
Jax Ulbrich also issued an apology in an Instagram post.
“Sedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” he wrote. “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. 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.”
Sanders, the son of Football Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, was considered one of the top quarterback prospects entering the draft but wasn’t selected until the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
During the prank call, Sanders was told: “We’re going to take you with our next pick, man, but you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that.”
The caller then hung up, leaving a confused Sanders to ask those at his draft party, “What does that mean?”
Sanders, after he was drafted on Saturday, told reporters the prank didn’t impact him.
“I think of course it is childish,” he said. “Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”
The Falcons said in their statement that Jeff Ulbrich was not aware of the data exposure or the prank call until he was made aware after the fact. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Falcons will not take any action against Jeff Ulbrich, who was hired by Atlanta in January after serving as interim head coach of the New York Jets.
“We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquires we may receive from the league office,” the Falcons said in their statement. “We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
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