by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
April 30, 2025
The NFL team was fined $250,000, and their defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, was fined $100,000 for the act performed by Jeff Ulbrich’s son, Jax
The National Football League has fined the Atlanta Falcons and the team’s defensive coordinator after the coach’s son made a prank call to Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the recent NFL Draft.
The NFL team was fined $250,000, and their defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, was fined $100,000 for “failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the 2025 NFL Draft.”
The NFL has confirmed that the #Falcons have been fined $250,000 and DC Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 for failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2025
The Falcons released a statement following the league’s announcement of the punishment.
“We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it,” the Falcons said in a written statement.
“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.”
The team is being punished because Ulbrich’s son, Jax, called Sanders after stealing the phone number from his father’s iPad during a visit to his parents’ home. He called the quarterback and told him he was a general manager from another NFL team, phoning to inform him that he had been selected to play for the team. Right before ending the call, he expressed that his wait to be picked for a team will be a little longer before hanging up.
After the prank took place, questions arose about how the prankster obtained the number, as it was only given to NFL personnel. After word got out about the prank, Jax admitted to his father what he had done. Jeff informed the team, and the Falcons released a statement taking responsibility for Jax’s actions before the league concluded by fining both the team and his father.
The defensive coordinator spoke to the media after learning about the fine.
“First of all, I would like to publicly apologize to Shedeur and the Sanders family for what occurred. Second of all, I want to publicly apologize to Mr. (Arthur) Blank, Terry Fontenot, Raheem Morris, and the entire Falcons organization. My actions — my actions — of not protecting confidential data were inexcusable. My son’s actions were absolutely inexcusable, and for that, we are both deeply sorry. The NFL has taken action, and I fully respect the punishment. We take full responsibility, both my son and myself, and we will not be appearing the fine in any way. Going forward, I promise my son and I will work hard to demonstrate that we are better than this. Again, I am deeply sorry for our actions.”
Shedeur accepted Jax’s apology, which he had offered privately before making it public.
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