Buccaneers division rival slammed with fines after Shedeur Sanders draft call prank

Talk about a phone bill.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris reacts on the sidelines against the Carolina Panthers. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Pranks are all fun and games until they aren't.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, made some big moves during the NFL Draft in an effort to try and best the Buccaneers for the division crown. That isn't the story for them in the aftermath of the draft weekend, though, because Falcons offensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's son, Jax Ulbrich, was recently revealed as the culprit behind a prank call received by Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the draft.

Jax called Sanders pretending to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, pretending that the Saints planned on taking Sanders before telling him that he'll "have to wait a little longer."
Sanders did end up having to wait a little longer — he was drafted in the fifth round — but the prank call caused a media storm that culminated in Jax revealing he was the perpetrator and that he had gotten Sanders' number from Jeff's open iPad.

Those actions now officially have consequences. Per the NFL's Ian Rapoport, the Falcons and Jeff are getting hit with a hefty phone bill, with the Falcons being fined $250,000 and Jeff himself fined $100,000 for the leak of Sanders' phone number, which the NFL described as "failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the 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 themselves released a statement on the fines:

Falcons statement on the $250,000 fine that the NFL levied against them: pic.twitter.com/2FczFEZDZF

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 30, 2025

The Falcons will pivot to their offseason programs in an attempt to dethrone the Bucs in head coach Raheem Morris' second year with the franchise, but distractions like this probably won't help them. The Bucs had no such external issues, selecting numerous defensive players and an offensive weapon in Emeka Egbuka in an effort to defend the division and seek a fifth-straight NFC South division title.

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