The Falcons were fined $250,000 as a team and Ulbrich was fined $100,000, 11Alive’s Maria Martin confirmed.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich have been fined by the NFL over the prank call made to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL Draft by Ulbrich’s son.
The Falcons were fined $250,000 as a team and Ulbrich was fined $100,000, 11Alive’s Maria Martin confirmed.
The NFL stipulated that the fines were issued for “failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Falcons in a statement said they appreciated the NFL’s thorough review of the matter.
“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,” a Falcons statement on Wednesday said. “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.”
The Falcons added that the Ulbrich family is “working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.
The team previously said Ulbrich’s son, Jax Ulbrich, found Sanders’ number on an open iPad while visiting his parents’ home and later used it to make the prank call.
Video of the prank call eventually circulated online both from the perspective of those making the call and from Sanders, whose brother published behind-the-scenes draft footage on YouTube.
Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the situation and only learned about it after it happened, according to the team.
After it came to light that Jax Ulbrich was involved in the call — he did not personally make it, the videos showed — the Falcons apologized to Sanders and his family. Jax Ulbrich also apologized.
“On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake. Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” Jax Ulbrich wrote in part. “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish.”
The Falcons after the incident said they “do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family.”
Sanders, for his part, said after he was eventually drafted that it “didn’t really have no impact on me because it was just like, OK. I don’t feed into negativity or I don’t feed into that stuff.”
Sanders, the Colorado quarterback and son of NFL and Falcons legend Deion Sanders, was ranked one of the top talents heading into the draft and was expected by many draft observers be selected either very high or at least in the first couple rounds.
Instead teams continued passing on him, ultimately until he fell to the fifth round where the Cleveland Browns selected him at pick No. 144.
It was during this draft fall that he was prank called, with the caller pretending to be with the New Orleans Saints and telling him he’d been drafted by New Orleans in the second round.
How much does Jeff Ulbrich make?
Jeff Ulbrich is set to earn $1.6 million in 2025, according to Front Office Sports. That puts him among the higher-paid defensive coordinators in the NFL. The recent $100,000 fine, handed down by the league, represents roughly 6% of his annual salary—a significant financial hit.
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