The 21-year-old son of the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator prank-called NFL hopeful Shedeur Sanders to say he had been drafted during his stunning fall from a top prospect to a fifth-round selection.
Jax Ulbrich, whose father, Jeff Ulbrich, works for the Falcons, called Sanders on Friday night claiming to be New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis and telling him he’d been drafted.
The younger Ulbrich saw Sanders’ contact info in his dad’s iPad and wrote it down, intending to deceive the Colorado University quarterback, the Falcons said in a statement Sunday. Jeff Ulbrich did not know about his son’s plan, the team said.
Though Jax Ulbrich provided the number, he was sitting beside an unidentified friend who made the call to Sanders.
“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.
Jax Ulbrich issued a statement and apologized publicly to Sanders, calling the act “completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful.”
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” Ulbrich said.
The NFL had previously said it was looking into the incident, NBC Sports reported.
Sanders had been one of the most notable prospects heading into the NFL draft, and some suggested he could go as early as No. 3 to the New York Giants. Other teams in the first round, including the Saints, had been rumored to be potential landing spots, but ultimately Sanders slid to the third day as the 144th overall pick, to the Cleveland Browns.
Sanders’ drop even drew the attention of President Donald Trump, who said Friday that all of the teams were “stupid” for bypassing Sanders in the first round.
