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The 2026 NFL Draft featured a parade of celebrities, fans, and dignitaries who teams tapped to announce their pick to the masses. That list of special guests did not include a YouTube personality named Fred Beyer, who earned an indefinite ban from all events affiliated with the league after he crashed the stage to try to pull off a prank.
I’d argue the internet’s Prank Era peaked at some point toward the middle of the 2010s, which is around the time I leveraged my 6’10” frame to infiltrate the floor of the 2015 NBA Draft before hitting the streets of New York City to celebrate with random people who were led to believe I’d been selected in the second round by the Utah Jazz.
I like to think that was a relatively harmless stunt that didn’t take the spotlight away from the real, actual players who’d spent years grinding to hear their name called or—as was the case with the spate of prank calls that marred the 2025 NFL Draft—came at the expense of the guys who were trying to celebrate one of the biggest achievements of their lives.
To my knowledge, the NBA did not decide to hit me with a restraining order over those shenanigans. However, that’s the route the NFL decided to go with a YouTuber who managed to make it onto the stage at the draft in Pittsburgh.
A YouTuber named Fred Beyer received an indefinite ban from the NFL after trying to pull off a prank at the draft
Pranking culture is still alive and well on YouTube in spite of the bygone nature of its glory days, and Fred Beyer largely relies on that particular genre to generate views on the channel where he has over two million subscribers.
On Monday, Beyer uploaded a video that chronicled his quest to “troll” the NFL Draft in what turned out to be a fairly ill-fated attempt to announce a fake pick on behalf of the Steelers before he was escorted from the premises and hit with a pretty stern punishment.
Prior to the draft, the Steelers announced they’d tapped a quartet of former players to announce some of their picks: Jerome Bettis, John Stallworth, and Joey Porter Jr. and Sr. That list did not include a 24-year-old YouTuber who also goes as “Derf,” but that didn’t stop him from trying to get in on the action.
Beyer seemingly forged passes to gain access to backstage areas by scouting people with legitimate ones outside the venue (although the video features a disclaimer asserting he and his camera team “were allowed” in the area they initially infiltrated).
He managed to work his way toward the stage before making a move while the Raiders were on the clock, and while the microphone captured him saying “With the 67th pick,” it was cut off before he delivered “The Pittsburgh Steelers select Luke Maxer” (a play on “looksmaxxer,” because sure, why not?).
Beyer was subsequently escorted off the stage before being interrogated by the league’s security team, and they eventually presented him with a letter where he was informed he is “indefinitely banned from any NFL game or event” while driving the point home with the threat of arrest.
Bummer.