The Atlanta Falcons announced that the prank call placed to Shedeur Sanders during the second night of the 2025 NFL Draft was traced back to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
In a statement, the Falcons said that Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number” for Sanders. It was on an “open iPad” while Jax Ulbrich was visiting his parents’ home.
Jax wrote the number down and passed it to a friend for the prank call with him in the room. Jeff Ulbrich was not aware of the situation until after the call happened, according to the Falcons.
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family,” the statement reads, adding that the team has reached out to apologize to Sanders directly. The team also facilitated an apology from Jax Ulbrich to Shedeur.“We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office,” the statement said.
The Falcons will not take any action against their defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. They are continuing to review their protocols to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. https://t.co/uXrJqbF5BU
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2025
The Falcons aren’t imposing any discipline on Jeff Ulbrich at this time.
At least two other prank calls were made to new Colts tight end Tyler Warren. An unknown player was called after he was drafted and told he’d been traded.
Whether the NFL takes any action against the team or Ulbrich remains to be seen.
Statement on IG from Jax Ulbrich, son of the Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, about the draft weekend prank call to Shedeur Sanders: pic.twitter.com/qPITk6gItD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2025
The Falcons said they will be “thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
Sanders eventually was taken with the No. 144 pick in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. He was initially projected as a top ten pick weeks ago.