After Shedeur Sanders was a victim of an insensitive prank call last year, the NFL made moves to ensure those types of incidents don’t happen anymore. As the future Cleveland Browns quarterback slid from being a projected top-five pick to the fifth round, he was subjected to a prank call from Jax Ulbrich, son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
He impersonated New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis ahead of the No. 40 pick. The Saints drafted a quarterback, but it was Tyler Shough of Louisville. The Falcons released a statement after the incident.
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“Earlier in the week, Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parents’ home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,” the statement read.
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“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. The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our 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.”
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On Monday, Saad Yousuf of The Athletic wrote that the league acted to prevent a similar situation this year.
“The relevant contact information will be provided by the league to a single point of contact at the club in football operations,” a league spokesman told The Athletic. “This individual will be responsible for safeguarding the numbers.”
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Shedeur Sanders expressed gratitude after dramatic draft slide
Reflecting on his journey to the Cleveland Browns, who picked him in the fifth round of the 2025 draft, Sanders explained what he learned from that experience.
“Now I feel bulletproof. … I’m thankful that everything happened how it happened. I’m thankful that my appreciation for a lot of things is what it is now. I’m thankful that I don’t really have to chase. I’m thankful that I got a great family. … I think I’m just grateful overall.”
Sanders started seven games in 2025, showing flashes of his quality.
Edited by Orlando Silva
