NEED TO KNOWThe NFL is making a major change to draft procedures after Shedeur Sanders was prank called last year
Sanders was prank called by the son of an Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who found the quarterback's phone number on an "open iPad" in his parents' home last April
The change will limit who has access to a prospect's phone number
The NFL is limiting teams' access to draft prospects' personal information in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the Shedeur Sanders prank call incident from last year.
According to The Athletic, only one employee from each NFL franchise will have access to draft prospects' contact information this year, to avoid the possibility that they could get prank called like the Cleveland Browns quarterback.
“The relevant contact information will be provided by the league to a single point of contact at the club in football operations,” a league spokesman told the outlet on Tuesday, April 21.
The individual selected to gain access to the contact information "will be responsible for safeguarding the numbers," the spokesman added, per The Athletic.
Last April, Jax Ulbrich, the son of Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, prank called Sanders, 24, who was unexpectedly left undrafted until the fifth round. Jax got Sanders' number from an "open iPad" in his parents' home, according to a statement from the Falcons.
Sanders answered the call from Jax, thinking it was New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
"We're going to take you with our next pick, man, but you're going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that,” the caller says in a video of the call, to which a confused Sanders replies, “What does that mean?”
Sanders — the son of famed former cornerback Deion Sanders — had reportedly been worried about the potential for prank calls before the draft, even changing his number ahead time and only sharing it with NFL executives, according to Fox Sports.
The NFL fined the Falcons $250,000 for "failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft," according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Jeff received an additional fine of $100,000, Rapoport said at the time.
Jax, 22, admitted he made the prank call in a post on social media, calling it a "tremendous mistake" and apologizing to Sanders.
“Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing and shameful," he said. “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment."
“Thank you for accepting my call earlier today. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” Jax concluded.
Sanders was drafted by the Browns with the 144th pick in the 2025 draft, and made his debut in Week 11 after the team's other rookie quarterback, Dillon Gabriel, was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Sanders finished out the season as the Browns' starting quarterback, and is expected to remain in that spot this fall.