Son of NFL coach, Bay Area local Jeff Ulbrich admits to Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft prank

(KRON) — The son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator and San Jose native Jeff Ulbrich was responsible for pranking former University of Colorado Boulder quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the 2025 NFL Draft, the Falcons organization announced Sunday.

Sanders, who some estimated would be a first-round pick, was ultimately drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. However, Sanders received a prank call from someone posing as a New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis before the team’s second-round pick, implying that the team intended to draft Sanders, ESPN reports.

The team went on to draft Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th overall pick.

The prank call led to an investigation by the NFL, which identified Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax Ulbrich as the prank caller. Jax Ulbrich used an open iPad to get Sanders’ phone number and commit the prank, the Falcons organization said in a statement.

“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 from the Falcons reads. “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.”

Sanders is the son of NFL Hall of Famer and University of Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders. The Falcons issued an apology to the Sanders family following the prank.

“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 statement from the Falcons reads. “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.”

Jax Ulbrich also shared his own apology on social media Sunday, Yahoo Sports reports.

“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake,” the Instagram post reads. “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. 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.”

Jeff Ulbrich was drafted by San Francisco in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft. The linebacker played 10 seasons with the 49ers. Ulbrich was named the defensive coordinator for the Falcons on Jan. 18, 2025.