The person who duped Cleveland Browns’ new quarterback Shedeur Sanders with a prank call during the 2025 NFL Draft has come forward with a public mea culpa.
After not hearing his name called in the first round of the draft, Sanders was misled on Day 2 by an imposter claiming to be Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. The hoaxer told the Colorado standout that he was about to be picked by New Orleans, but would have to “wait a little bit longer.”
This cruel joke added insult to injury on what was already a tough night for Sanders, as he unexpectedly plummeted in the draft rankings. His ordeal ended on Day 3 when the Browns took him at No. 144 overall, sparking a wave of support from his future teammates.
Within a day of the selection, the identity of the prank caller was revealed. Jax Ulbrich, son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, took to Instagram to express his remorse over the “shameful” incident and shared that he had personally apologized to Sanders.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” the 21-year-old wrote on Instagram. “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. Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
The Falcons issued an official statement strongly condemning Ulbrich’s behavior and pledged to review their protocols to prevent such incidents from happening again.
“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 message read.
DON’T MISS:
“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.”
