Shedeur Sanders Gets Apology from Prankster for 'Shameful' Behavior
One of the biggest topics coming out of the NFL draft was University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders not getting selected until the final day of the event, on April 26. What made matters worse was that Sanders, as he waited in great anticipation for a phone call asking him to join one of the teams, got a prank phone call that he thought was from general manager Mickey Loomis of the New Orleans Saints.
On April 27, the identity of one of the pranksters was revealed, and it ended up being Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
The Atlanta Falcons released a statement confirming the news, stating that earlier in the week, Jax had "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."
The statement added that the 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." It added that the team has "been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office."
The Falcons also said they are "reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again."
Now, Jax has broken his silence and issued his own statement on social media. In his message, shared by ESPN's Adam Schefter, he calls his decision to prank call Sanders "completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful." He also said that he spoke with Sanders earlier in the day and thanked Sanders for taking his call.
"On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake," Jax stated in his apology. "Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful. I'm so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish."
Statement on IG from Jax Ulbrich, son of the Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, about the draft weekend prank call to Shedeur Sanders: pic.twitter.com/qPITk6gItD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2025
He added, "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."
Following Sanders finally getting drafted over the weekend, he took to social media to thank God for the opportunity.
Related: Shedeur Sanders Has 3-Word Response to Finally Getting Drafted