NFL investigates prank call to Shedeur Sanders from number leak off Falcons' iPad

D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Apr 27, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.— The NFL is investigating a prank call to former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, according to the league office.

“We will look into the matter,” a league spokesman wrote in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We have no further comment.”

Profootballtalk.com also reported that the league will investigate the call.

Sanders, who was slipping in the draft, received a call from someone alleging to be Saints general manager Mickey Loomis on Friday during the NFL draft. Sanders said the call came to a phone that was issued to him by the NFL.

Sanders was taken Saturday by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round (144th overall).

There are several items online and a since-deleted Instagram account of the alleged pranksters. One of the individuals, Jax Ulbrich, is the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

The Falcons didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter but later sent a statement.

“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 parents’ home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,” the statement read. “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.

“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."

This will be the third league investigation involving the Falcons since 2023.

In December of 2023, the Falcons were fined $75,000 and former coach Arthur Smith $25,000 for violating the NFL injury-reporting policy before the club’s Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In June of 2024, the Falcons were cited by the league office for tampering in the signings of quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner. The Falcons were fined $250,000, general manager Terry Fontenot was fined $50,000 and they lost their fifth-round pick in the recently completed 2025 draft.

Now, this investigation, which involved Sanders, the son of team Ring of Honor member Deion Sanders.

____