One of the many, many Shedeur Sanders stories to come out of the 2025 NFL draft was the prank call the new Cleveland Browns quarterback received that led him to believe he was being drafted by the New Orleans Saints.
After an investigation, it was revealed that the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was the one who got his hands on Sanders' phone number from a list the Falcons coach had, although the Falcons stated he did not make the call. Ulbrich was unaware his son had snatched the number. His son, Jax, has since apologized.
"I'm so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish," Jax Ulbrich said in a statement he posted to Instagram on Monday. "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."
Safe to say, the NFL moved quickly to punish the Falcons for the unintended data breach. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the league is fining Atlanta $250,000, and Ulbrich $100,000 for "failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft."
"We appreciate the NFL's swift and thorough review of last week's data exposure and the event that transpired due to it," the Falcons said in a statement on Wednesday morning in response to the fine.
"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."
The prank call just added insult to injury for Sanders, who had one of the most memorable draft slides for any player in NFL history. Widely projected to be selected in the first round, Sanders fell all the way to the fifth.
There are plenty of theories as to why that happened, but nobody can say for sure what was behind it. Regardless, Sanders will get to work in Cleveland and try to prove that the other 31 teams made a huge mistake.