A prank call has resulted in a very real punishment for the Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
The NFL has announced that it has fined the team $250,000 and Ulbrich $100,000 “for failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”
Said the Falcons: “We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it. 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. 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. Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.”
On one hand, the NFL had to do something about the Shedeur Sanders prank call. It was a very bad look for the league, the Falcons, and Ulbrich that he allowed an “open iPad” to be seen by his 21-year-old son, who took down Sanders’s phone number with the specific intent of making a prank call.
Also, and as recently mentioned, it underscores the importance of safeguarding confidential information. Especially since confidential information about injuries, game plans, etc. can become very valuable in the context of gambling.
On the other hand, the NFL distributed Sanders’s updated number far more broadly than needed. It went to the same recipients who get the daily transaction wire. All coaches (including assistants). Multiple personnel people.
This is the kind of stuff that should be distributed on a need-to-know basis only. Ulbrich did not need to know it.
Some thought the Falcons would get lenience because of Rich McKay’s role as chairman of the Competition Committee. And maybe they did. It’s impossible to know without knowing what the NFL would have done if another team had done it.
It’s safe to say that, if it happens again, the punishment will be worse. That said, the NFL can (and should) tighten its own procedures in order to keep it from happening again.
The Falcons have made a decision on receiver Drake London.
Atlanta will exercise London’s fifth-year option, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
London was the No. 8 overall pick of the 2022 draft out of USC. He was the lone remaining top-10 pick from that class whose team had not made it publicly known whether or not the fifth-year option was being picked up.
London is now set to receive a fully guaranteed $16.817 million in 2026.
The young wideout reached 1,000 yards for the first time in 2024, catching 100 passes for 1,271 yards with nine touchdowns.
In 50 career games, he’s recorded 241 receptions for 3,042 yards with 15 TDs.
The deadline to pick up fifth-year options on the rookie contracts of the 2022 first-round draft picks is Thursday.
Only one top-10 pick from that draft class — Falcons receiver Drake London — has not had a decision made about his fifth-year option. Seven top-10 picks will have their fifth-year option exercised; Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. already has signed a long-term extension; and the Giants are declining the fifth-year option of offensive lineman Evan Neal.
London would receive a fully guaranteed $16.817 million for 2026 if the Falcons exercise the fifth-year option.
Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot recently said the team hasn’t made a decision but spoke glowingly about the receiver.
“We’ll keep those discussions private, but you know how we feel about Drake,” Fontenot said, via Terrin Waack of the team website. “He’s a stud and stud on the field. He’s everything we’re about. Just like we’re just talking about being obsessed with the game. Obviously, he’s a good man off the field, but he blacks out when it’s time to play and when it’s time to compete, and he will do anything he can to rip your face off and win the game. That’s who he is, and that’s what we want. We don’t want just guys that are going to come in and be great, and off the field just kind of be OK. We want dudes when we lose, they’re angry and they’re not OK, and they don’t sleep well when we’re losing. That’s the kind of guy he is. We’ll take a lot like that heart that Drake has. If you could do heart transplants and do it to everybody, then we’ll be in good shape.”
London, the eighth overall pick in 2022, had a career year last season with 100 receptions for 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns.
The 2025 draft has come and gone. Quarterback Kirk Cousins remains on the Falcons’ roster.
Appearing with Adam Schein of SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio on Tuesday, Falcons G.M. Terry Fontenot addressed the status of the former starter who has been supplanted by Michael Penix Jr., including specifically whether he’ll be traded.
“We have to be patient there and we always we’re open with not just talking about Kirk, but with really anybody on our roster,” Fontenot said. “You know, we have a lot of those calls with — I’ve probably talked to already six or seven GMs, since the draft ended, and they’re talking about their roster. We’re talking about our roster because after you get through the draft, that shifts some things in terms of needs and surplus and all that.
“And so we’re always patient with those types of things because if something comes to us with Kirk or any other player that makes sense and it’s going to help this team, then we’re going to be aggressive and we’re going to do it. And if it’s not something that’s going to ultimately help this team, we always have to ask that question: Is it the best for the Atlanta Falcons or this organization? And if it is, we’re going to be willing to do it. But all that communication is always ongoing.”
There’s currently no obvious spot for Cousins to be a starter. Cleveland has five quarterbacks. The Steelers expect Aaron Rodgers to sign with them, eventually. Every other team has its 2025 starter in the building.
We made the case last week for waiting. The Falcons, and Cousins, currently have little leverage. One injury could change everything.
It happened in 2011, when Carson Palmer decided he was done with the Bengals and the Bengals did nothing about it and, two days before the trade deadline, Raiders starter Jason Campbell suffered a broken collarbone. Boom, problem solved.
Cousins isn’t agitating for a trade. He’ll be a good soldier. And, ultimately, he holds a no-trade clause. Why be the backup somewhere else when he can stay where he is? He’s getting $27.5 million, either way.
At last word, the Falcons reportedly wanted a new team to assume $20 million of Cousins’s remaining $37.5 million in guarantees. (Fontenot denied that a specific number has been applied to the negotiations.) If a team loses its starter for the season, that team might decide to pay it all.
Remember when the Vikings lost Teddy Bridgewater in late August, nine years ago? They instantly became desperate enough to send a first-round pick and a fourth-pound pick to the Eagles for Sam Bradford.
Circumstances can change. The Falcons and Cousins would be wise to wait and see if they do. Especially since the current circumstances involve no takers for Cousins as a potential starter.
It came to light as an NFL version of The Jerky Boys. The facts that led to Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders receiving a prank call during the draft speaks to a much more serious potential problem.
As explained by the Falcons, 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich saw Sanders’s phone number on an “open iPad” issued to his father, Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Jax Ulbrich wrote it down with the plan of pranking Sanders.
It only came to light because the prank happened, and it blew up. But for the reaction to the prank, no one ever would have known that Jax Ulbrich had misappropriated inside information.
And that’s the key. Inside information.
The Ulbrich situation is a reminder that: (1) inside information exists; (2) it can be easily obtained; (3) it can be used for gambling.
And would it shock anyone if a 21-year-old would be trying to finagle inside information that him and his buddies could use to get an edge on their betting apps?
From the moment the gambling gold rush started nearly seven years ago, it became obvious that the NFL isn’t nearly as concerned as it needs to be about how its inside information can be misused by those who hope to tilt the odds in their favor. The Sanders prank call proves conclusively that the means for getting it exists.
And the clock keeps ticking toward the inevitable scandal. Will the NFL button things up before it happens?
When it comes to the general practice of prank calls, The Jerky Boys were artists. When prank calls are specifically made to prospects during the draft, those who do it are just jerks.
And while it’s impossible to prevent any and all prank calls made by friends or others who may have access to the phone numbers, the NFL can and should do more to ensure that access to the numbers is limited.
As to the prank call made to quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the second day of the draft, the number was obtained by the 21-year-old son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Ulbrich had the number because the NFL sent to a broad distribution list an email that provided Sanders’s update number.
All personnel executives received it. All head coaches and assistant coaches received it.
There’s no reason for so many people to have the numbers. At most, three people at each team need the number: owner, G.M., and head coach. It arguably could be limited to one person per organization.
Another way to prevent prank calls would be to make the calls by FaceTime only. It would be obvious that it’s real from the moment the call is answered.
Whatever the NFL does, it has some indirect responsibility for the Shedeur prank because it was way too loose with the information. This makes it even more likely that the Falcons’ statement will be regarded as the end of the matter (even if there could be more to the story than the team admits), and that the NFL will just quietly move on.
The Falcons only drafted five players this year, which made the post-draft rush to sign undrafted players a big part of General Manager Terry Fontenot’s plans.
Fontenot said at a press conference over the weekend that the Falcons “really have to attack undrafted free agency in the right way” and the first results of that effort were announced on Monday. They have agreed to terms with 11 rookies who went unselected over seven rounds.
The group includes Miami defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr., Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant, Michigan State running back Nathan Carter, Oregon State offensive lineman Joshua Gray, North Dakota State linebacker Nick Kubitz, Oregon cornerback Dontae Manning, San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash, South Carolina tight end Joshua Simon, Vanderbilt wide receiver Quincy Skinner Jr., Iowa State linebacker Malik Verdon, and Georgia Tech offensive tackle Jordan Williams.
The Falcons will open their rookie minicamp on May 9.
The Falcons won’t be taking action against defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in connection with his son’s prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the second night of the draft. The NFL still could.
“We have been in contact with the Falcons and we are reviewing the matter,” a league spokesman told PFT via email.
On Sunday afternoon, the Falcons issued a statement explaining that Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number” for Sanders, which he found in an “open iPad” while visiting his parents’ home.
PFT has obtained a pair of communications that were sent to the NFL’s teams regarding the contact information for the draft prospects generally, and for Sanders specifically. The first, a formal memo dated April 23, 2025 to all “General Managers, Head Coaches, Player Personnel Directors, Club IT Directors” from the NFL Player Personnel department listed the contact numbers for the 16 players who attended the draft (cell phone number and green room number) and the 24 players who were participating virtually (including Sanders). The memo also contained the WhatsApp numbers for the five players who participated in the 2025 International Player Pathway Program, and who were attending the draft in Green Bay.
Later, an email was sent on April 23 to “All Waivers [NFL League],” and it contained only the “new cell phone number beginning today” for Shedeur Sanders. As one source explained it, the “All Waivers [NFL League]” is widely distributed to all coaches and personnel executives. Ulbrich would have been on the recipient list.
It’s reasonable to conclude that Jax Ulbrich saw the second email, which had only Sanders’s updated number — especially since that’s the number that was called during the draft. The question is how and when he saw it.
Did it happen the way the Falcons explained it?. The team’s statement shifts all blame from Jeff Ulbrich, insulating him from any potential knowledge that he was aware that his son saw the number and wrote it down specifically with the intention of pranking Sanders. It also eliminates the possibility that Jeff Ulbrich was in any way involved in the prank.
It will be interesting to see whether the league accepts Atlanta’s explanation or digs deepers. It also will be interesting to see whether the league imposes any discipline on the Falcons or Ulbrich. If nothing happens, it will cause some to conclude that the lack of action represents another benefit to the Falcons from having Rich McKay serve as chairman of the Competition Committee.
For now, we’ll see what happens. And we’ll see whether the league gets to the bottom of the question of: (1) who pranked Colts tight end Tyler Warren on the first night of the draft; and (2) who called a player roughly 30 minutes after he was drafted and told him he had been traded.
Regardless of how it plays out, it’s safe to say that this was one of the most uncommon drafts of the common draft era.
The mystery has been solved.
Well, one of them at least.
The Falcons have announced that the prank call placed during the second night of the draft traces to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. In a statement, the Falcons said that Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son, Jax, “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number” for Sanders. It was on an “open iPad” while Jax Ulbrich was visiting his parents’ home. (Microsoft might not be thrilled about Apple getting some product-placement publicity; the league gets millions per year to use and promote the Surface.)
He wrote the number down with the plan to use it for a prank call. Per the Falcons, Jeff Ulbrich was not aware of the situation until after the call happened.
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family,” the statement reads, adding that the team has reached out to apologize to Sanders directly. The team also facilitated an apology from Jax Ulbrich to Shedeur.
“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,” the statement explains.
The Falcons are imposing no discipline on Jeff Ulbrich, and the statement does not apply to any other prank calls made to prospects during the draft. A prank call was made to new Colts tight end Tyler Warren. Another player was called after he was drafted and told he’d been traded.
Whether the NFL takes any action against the team or Jeff Ulbrich remains to be seen. The Falcons said they will be “thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.”
The Michael Penix Jr. era in Atlanta is officially underway. After selecting Penix with the 8th overall pick last year, the rookie began the season as backup QB to Kirk Cousins. However, Cousins struggled in his first season in Atlanta, with Penix taking over as the starter for the final three games of the season.
Atlanta has just five picks in this year’s draft. They traded their third-round pick to New England in exchange for LB Matt Judon last year, while they were stripped of their fifth-round pick for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy for making improper contact with Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney, and Charlie Woerner.
This is the first time since 2020 that Atlanta does not have a top-10 draft pick. In each of the last four years, they have used their first-round selection on an offensive playmaker, selecting TE Kyle Pitts (2021), WR Drake London (2022), RB Bijan Robinson (2023) and QB Michael Penix Jr. (2024).
Atlanta Falcons 2025 NFL Draft Picks
Round 1: No. 15 - Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
Round 1: No. 26 (from LAR) - James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
Round 3: No. 96 (from PHI) - Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame
Round 4: No. 118 - Billy Bowman Jr., S, Oklahoma
Round 7: No. 218 (from CLE via LAC) - Jack Nelson, T, Wisconsin
Check out 2025 NFL Draft picks for other teams in the NFC South:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2025 NFL Draft picks
Carolina Panthers 2025 NFL Draft picks
New Orleans Saints 2025 NFL Draft picks
Click here to see the entire 2025 NFL Draft order. Coverage of the latest news from around the NFL is available all year round from Pro Football Talk on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube Channel.
For the full slate of NFL Draft content from across NBC Sports, click here.
