Shedeur Sanders has received apologies for the prank phone call he received Friday night while he waited to hear his name called in the NFL draft – from an NFL team and a family member of one of its top coaches.
The Atlanta Falcons released a statement Sunday afternoon, which read in part: “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 parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call. 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.
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“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.
“We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office.
“We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
Jax Ulbrich released a statement of his own apologizing to Sanders, calling his actions “completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful.” Jax Ulbrich also claimed to have spoken on the phone with Sanders and thanked him for taking the call.
Shedeur Sanders looks on before the Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on April 19, 2025.
The NFL has been investigating the matter since the incident occurred and is in contact with the Falcons.
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After an unexpected free fall during the draft, Sanders, son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and the University of Colorado’s quarterback the past two seasons, was drafted Saturday in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shedeur Sanders prank call: Falcons, Jeff Ulbrich’s son apologize
