The NFL has fined the Atlanta Falcons $250,000 and team defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 over the leak of Shedeur Sanders’ phone number, the league confirmed to CNN Sports on Wednesday.
Jax Ulbrich, the son of the Falcons DC, apologized for a prank call made to Sanders on Friday as he waited to be picked in the NFL draft.
Originally one of the NFL’s most-touted draft prospects, Sanders received a call – allegedly from the general manager of the New Orleans Saints – as he waited anxiously to learn which NFL team would select him, but the call turned out to be a prank.
While draft phone numbers are only available to a limited amount of NFL personnel, according to NFL Network’s Judy Batista, the Falcons said Ulbrich’s son saw Sanders’ number on his father’s open iPad, which he then wrote down to use later.
In the Falcons’ statement, the team promised to “facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.” Jax Ulbrich released a public apology on Instagram on Sunday where he thanked Sanders for “accepting my call earlier.”
“We appreciate the NFL’s swift and thorough review of last week’s data exposure and the event that transpired due to it,” the Falcons said in a statement sent to CNN. “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.
“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. Additionally, the Ulbrich family is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.”
Sanders is the son of Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. The University of Colorado alum was widely expected to be picked earlier in the draft because of the number of teams needing a quarterback.
A day after the hoax, Sanders received the real call from the Cleveland Browns. He was selected as the 144th overall pick in the fifth round on Saturday.
The NFL told CNN that the league is still investigating other prank calls reported during the draft. The league said those are unrelated to the Ulbrich and Sanders incident.
The story has been updated with additional information.
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