The NFL has fined the Atlanta Falcons $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 in response to Ulbrich’s son’s prank call made to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.
Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son admitted to the prank call and apologized in an Instagram post Sunday. The Falcons said in a statement Sunday that Jax Ulbrich wrote down the number from his father’s open iPad while visiting his parents’ home “to later conduct a prank call.”
The NFL said the fines were for “failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”
The Falcons said in a statement, “We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it. We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization. We are confident in our security policies and practices and will continue to emphasize adherence to them with our staff whether on or off premises.”
The Falcons added that, “the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.”
The NFL still is looking into the other prank calls made to players during the draft, but it says they are unrelated to the call made to Sanders.
As Sanders continued to wait for his name to be called on Day 2 of the draft Friday, a video surfaced on social media of the former Colorado quarterback receiving a call from someone impersonating New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
The caller told Sanders: “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.”
A confused Sanders asked the crowd gathered for his draft party, “What does that mean?”
Jax Ulbrich wrote in his post that what he did was “completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful.” He said Sanders accepted his call earlier.
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” Jax Ulbrich said in his Instagram post. “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, who had been widely expected to be selected in the first round before the NFL draft started, had to wait until Day 3 of the draft for his slide to end when the Cleveland Browns picked him in the fifth round.
In a conference call with Cleveland-area reporters after he was drafted by the Browns, Sanders said he wasn’t bothered by the prank.
“It didn’t really have an impact on me,” Sanders said, “because it was just like, I mean, OK, like I don’t feed into negativity, or I don’t feed into that stuff. You’ve seen on Deion [Sanders] Jr.’s YouTube video my reaction to it, I don’t — it is what it is. I think, of course, it is childish. Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter contributed to this report.
