Shedeur Sanders was the talk of the 2025 NFL Draft. When most expected Deion Sanders’ son to be a first-round pick, he slipped all the way to the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns ended his freefall as the 144th overall pick.
But before Sanders was drafted, he got prank-called, where the caller told Sanders to “wait a little longer.” We later learned that the prank caller was none other than Jax Ulbrich, the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
On Wednesday, the NFL handed out discipline to the Falcons, fining them $250,000 and Ulbrich $1000,000 for leaking Sanders’ phone number.
Shortly after, the NFL revealed their reason behind the fine, for “Failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons have since released a statement on their infraction.
Statement from the #Falcons, who say “the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week's matter." https://t.co/KFQHpJrgSD pic.twitter.com/ZMtUBvKh4O
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 30, 2025
While the $250K fine is a slap on the wrist for the Falcons’ organization, it’s much more impactful for Ulbrich, whose salary has not been made public. Some reports suggest he made around $1.6 million as the Jets’ defensive coordinator, and he could be on a similar contract with the Falcons.
Ulbrich is entering his first season as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator, and his tenure has already started with a great amount of controversy. Yet, if he can help the Falcons return to the playoffs, chances are this will all be forgotten by season’s end.
Related: Predicting NFL playoff teams and Super Bowl 2026 winner
