Multiple players, including Shedeur Sanders, have fallen victim to prank calls.
The NFL is investigating a series of prank calls made to college football stars who were waiting to be contacted during the 2025 NFL Draft.
When NFL prospects enter the draft, they submit their phone number with the understanding that it will be used only by team representatives. However, individuals outside the NFL have been gaining access to that contact information.
Before University of Colorado Boulder quarterback Shedeur Sanders was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the draft, he posted online about receiving a prank call by a college student impersonating New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis.
A screen shows Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ name after being selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick during the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 26, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Perry Knotts/Getty Images
The Atlanta Falcons later shared an apology to the Sanders family, announcing that the person behind the prank call was 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich, the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
The team said Jax Ulbrich obtained Sanders’ phone number from an open iPad at his parents’ home.
The 21-year-old later shared a post on Instagram, writing in part to Shedeur Sanders, “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.”
“The NFL could have thought more about disseminating a popular player’s number, but the truth is, somehow, everybody needs a way to reach that player on draft day,” ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter explained to ABC News. “Oftentimes, it can be through an agent. In this particular case, his number was widely distributed. It got into the hands of people that it didn’t belong with, and it wound up with one of the more unfortunate incidents that we’ve seen in recent draft memory.”
Sanders wasn’t the only player impacted. Allen Graham, the father of Michigan player Mason Graham, who was drafted by the Browns in the first round, said his son was also the victim of a prank call.
“Someone made a TikTok while crank calling him & showed his number on the video … his phone was getting called nonstop,” Allen Graham told The Detroit Free Press via text message.
The NFL is also investigating a third prank call, made to Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren.
Warren, who was picked 14th overall by the Indianapolis Colts, received a fake phone call message that said he was being drafted by the New York Jets, who were making the seventh overall pick.
Sixth-round pick Chase Lundt of the UConn Huskies said he was also pranked before being picked by the Buffalo Bills.
Iowa Hawkeyes’ defensive back Cooper DeJean also received a prank call in 2024, during the first round of last year’s NFL draft. DeJean was later drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“This is about young college men on the brink of realizing their NFL dreams, getting calls from other college students mocking them and joking around with them at a time when there’s nothing funny about it,” Schefter added.
