Atlanta Falcons Fined $250K For Leaking Shedeur Sanders' Phone Number

The National Football League (NFL) has announced the punishment meted out to the Atlanta Falcons and its team defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, for their involvement in leaking Shedeur Sanders' phone number.

Sanders suffered a humiliating moment after receiving a prank call while waiting to get drafted during the 2025 NFL draft.

Later, the Atlanta Falcons apologized to Sanders and revealed that one of their coaches' sons was responsible for the fake call.

On Wednesday, the NFL fined the Atlanta Falcons $250,000. The team's defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, was also fined $100,000.

In a statement to CNN, the Falcons thanked the NFL for thoroughly reviewing the events of last week.

The team said, "We appreciate the NFL's swift and thorough review of last's week's data exposure and the event that transpired due to it."

The statement continued, "We were proactive in addressing the situation internally and cooperated fully with the league throughout the process, and accept the discipline levied to Coach Jeff Ulbrich and the organization."

The NFL team added, "We are confident in our security policies and practices and will continue to emphasize adherence to them with our staff whether on or off premises."

Atlanta Falcons concluded, "Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week's matter."

Jeff Ulbrich and the Atlanta Falcons' punishment is a result of the infamous prank call targeting Shedeur Sanders.

NFL teams surprisingly overlooked Sanders after the first round of the draft last Thursday, and he was hoping to get picked in round two.

However, while streaming the second round drafts, Sanders received a call from someone he thought was an NFL representative.

In a now-viral video of the prank call, Sanders responded to the call and said, "Good, I've been waiting on you," after the caller asked how he was doing.

Sanders was downcast after the caller told him he would "have to wait a little longer." He was later heard saying, "I don't know what that was."

He added, "Nobody's got this number, though. Nobody. This is a private number."

After the video of Sanders' prank call went viral on social media, the NFL announced that it was investigating how his phone number was leaked.

Not long after the NFL's comments, the Atlanta Falcons released a statement, admitting that a coach's son was responsible for the call.

The team said, "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."

The statement continued, "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 Falcons also said, "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."

They concluded, "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."

Following the revelation of who was behind the infamous prank call, Jeff Ulbrich's son, Jax, shared a statement on Instagram apologizing to Sanders.

He wrote, "On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful."

Jax continued, "I'm so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. 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."

The 21-year-old thanked Sanders for accepting an earlier call from him. He wrote, "Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

After much waiting and the humiliating prank call, Shedeur Sanders would finally have a moment to celebrate.

With the 144th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback.

The development was being watched closely by many to see where the confident 23-year-old would land.

Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Colorado coach Deion Sanders, was seen celebrating the moment on Twitch, surrounded by friends and family and wearing a Browns hat.

Leading up to the draft, Sanders was projected to be selected in the first round, with teams like the Giants and Steelers seen as potential fits. However, both passed.

Day two also brought disappointment, as the Browns skipped over him twice. The Saints, needing a quarterback, chose Tyler Shough instead. Despite the delays, Sanders stayed positive, saying, "God don't make mistakes."