Jeff Ulbrich Apologizes to Shedeur Sanders After Being Fined by NFL

Ulbrich accepted full responsibility for the prank call incident and apologized to Sanders and the Falcons.

April 30, 2025

A man in Atlanta Falcons gear with a headset, and another man smiling, wearing jewelry and a white jacket.

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images), (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images for ONIT)

The Atlanta Falcons' defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, issued an apology to Shedeur Sanders after the NFL handed him and the team hefty fines as a result of Ulbrich's son prank calling the newly drafted NFL quarterback.

"First of all I'd like to publicly apologize to Shedeur and the Sanders family for what occurred," Ubrich said at a press conference. "My actions have not protected confidential data, were inexcusable. My son's actions were absolutely inexcusable, and for that we are both deeply sorry."

He added, "The NFL has taken action, and I fully respect the punishment. We take full responsibility,my son and myself, and we will not be appealing the fine in any way.Going forward, I promise my son, and I, will work hard to demonstrate we are better than this. Again, I am deeply sorry for our actions."

On Wednesday, the NFL fined the Falcons $250,000 and Ulbrich $100,000 for the prank call incident where the latter's son, Jax, got hold of Sanders' number by looking through his father's iPad. Jax had initially issued an apology on Instagram, while the Falcons issued a public apology as well.

Sanders wasn't the only player subjected to draft day prank calls as New York Giants' No. 3 pick Abdul Carter, Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kyle McCord were all victims as well.