Jax Ulbrich, 21, the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, prank-called NFL prospect Shedeur Sanders as he awaited news on which team would select him after being considered a top draft pick.
How did Jax get Shedeur’s information?
NBC News reported that on Friday night, Jax pretended to be New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis by contacting Sanders and telling him he had been drafted to the team.
The Falcons confirmed that Jax found Sanders’ contact information on his father’s iPad and wrote it down to prank the University of Colorado quarterback later. Jeff was reportedly unaware of his son’s actions.
“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,” the Falcons’ statement said, per NBC News.
‘I’m sorry I took away from your moment’
Jax took to social media to apologize to Sanders for what he described as a “terrible mistake” on an important night for him.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Sheduer, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Jax wrote in a statement shared on his Instagram account.
“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.”
View this post on Instagram
According to CNN, the ruse was captured on video and shared online Saturday by Well Off Media, a production company owned by Deion Sanders Jr., Shedeur’s brother and the son of University of Colorado head coach and former NFL star Deion Sanders.
“We’re going to take you with our next pick right here,” Jax said in the video, posing as Loomis in a phone call to Shedeur.
The 23-year-old was surrounded by his loved ones, believing he was about to be drafted by New Orleans.
“But you’re going to have to wait a little longer, man. Sorry about that,” Jax said and hung up.
A stunned Shedeur could only respond by asking, “What does that mean?” in a video shared to Fox NFL’s official TikTok account.
@nflonfox Somebody did Shedeur so wrong as a prank #nfl #nfldraft #shedeursanders
The NFL plans to investigate past prank-call incidents
The incident puzzled him and everyone around him, but the Cleveland Browns later drafted Shedeur in the fifth round as the 144th overall pick on Saturday.
As for the hoax, the NFL confirmed it will investigate other prank calls made to NFL prospects in recent years. The Falcons are also cooperating with the league to prevent other future incidents.
NBC Sports reported that similar prank call incidents have occurred with other players, including Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean in 2024. The NFL typically provides prospects with phones to facilitate direct contact with potential teams, but it has not been confirmed whether Cooper received the call on his personal phone or the league-issued device.
