Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Shedeur Sanders was one of multiple prospects who received a prank call during the NFL Draft, and that story took a very interesting turn when we learned he was targeted by the son of the defensive coordinator for the Falcons. The NFL didn’t waste much time doling out some discipline, as the franchise and the employee who was particularly responsible have each been hit with a six-figure fine.
There was no storyline in the most recent NFL Draft that attracted more attention than the slide Shedeur Sanders was forced to endure before the Browns finally selected him in the fifth round.
It was a brutal development that was exacerbated by the false hope the former QB got when someone claiming to be the GM of the Saints called him on the second day of the event to tell him he was about to be picked before he realized it was a prank call.
We were subsequently treated to a video chronicling the other end of that conversation featuring a college student who was quickly identified as Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of Jeff Ulbrich, the man who the Falcons hired to serve as their new defensive coordinator this season after he capped off his time serving as the interim coach of the Jets in the wake of Robert Saleh’s firing.
Jax issued an apology after the prank blew up in his face and said he couldn’t resist the urge to jot down Sanders’ number after spotting it on his dad’s iPad. The Falcons initially said they had no plans to discipline Ulbrich, but it’s safe to assume Jeff didn’t opt to go the same route with his son.
That’s especially true in the wake of the development we were treated to on Tuesday, as the NFL announced it is fining the franchise $250,000 and docking Ulbrich another $100,000 for failing to take the proper precautions to keep Sanders’ number secure.
It’s unclear how much Atlanta is paying Ulbrich, but he was reportedly earning $1.6 million a year with the Jets. That number is also enough to cover two-and-a-half years’ worth of tuition at the college Jax is currently attending, and it’s very hard to envy the position he’s found himself in after digging his own grave.