Mary Gilmore, Staff Writer
On Day 2 of the NFL draft, quarterback Shedeur Sanders received a call from a person pretending to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. This person informed Sanders that the Saints would be taking him as their next pick. This person then backtracked and stated that Sanders would have to wait a little longer. That was when Sanders knew something was strange and reported it.
While Sanders’ case blew up, this was not the only prank call at the beginning of the draft. There were seven confirmed prank calls that week to different players, all claiming to be from a team that wanted to draft them. While all of these cases occurred, the NFL has confirmed that Sanders’ case is separate from the others.
Sanders’ case is critical as they discovered it came from 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich, Jeff Ulbrich’s son. Jeff Ulbrich was the interim head coach for the New York Jets for the 2024-2025 season and is currently the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator. Jax took to social media to apologize to Shedeur for the incident.
“On Friday night, I made a tremendous mistake,” Jax’s post reads. “Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. 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.”
The Falcons released a statement stating that Jax found the number on his father’s iPad. He wrote it down and used it later for the prank call.
CBS Sports insider, Jonathan Jones, reported that the Falcons were fined $250,000 and Jeff Ulbrich was fined $100,000. The team accepted this decision in a statement earlier this week:
“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. Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.”
Sanders, who was originally a No. 1 draft pick, was ultimately selected by the Browns in the fifth round.
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