Shedeur Sanders’s private phone number was exposed to nearly 2,000 people: Report

The NFL reportedly distributed Shedeur Sanders' private phone number to approximately 1,920 people before the 2025 NFL draft, according to Mike Florio on NBC Sports' "Pro Football Talk" on Thursday. The massive exposure happened weeks before the Colorado quarterback dropped to the fifth round and became the target of a prank call.

According to Florio's report, the NFL emailed Sanders' number to the same distribution list that receives the daily transaction report, commonly known as the "waiver wire." The list includes around 60 people per team across all 32 NFL organizations.

"Even the equipment managers received the email with Sanders's new number," a source told Pro Football Talk on Wednesday.

NCAA Football: Colorado NFL Showcase - Source: Imagn

This contradicts the NFL's earlier suggestion that the Atlanta Falcons shared the confidential information with their defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, at their own risk.

"The league sent the email to the same group that receives the daily transaction report," Florio wrote on Thursday. "That claim is absolutely false."

Jeff's 21-year-old son, Jax Ulbrich, used the number to make a prank call to Sanders during the draft. He claimed to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and falsely told Sanders that the team planned to draft him.

NFL fines Falcons and Jeff Ulbrich but faces questions about its role in the Shedeur Sanders fiasco

NCAA Football: Colorado NFL Showcase - Source: Imagn

The NFL responded to the incident by fining the Atlanta Falcons $250,000 and Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 for failing to secure Shedeur Sanders's contact information. However, Mike Florio suggested that the league should share responsibility for the breach.

"The NFL created the opportunity for whatever happened to happen. And it happened," Florio wrote on Thursday. "If the NFL is going to fine the Falcons and Ulbrich for this, the NFL should fine itself, too."

The official explanation was that Jax Ulbrich unintentionally came across Sanders' number on an open iPad while visiting his parents' home. He then decided to write the number down to conduct a prank call. However, Florio questioned this account.

"(It is) a chain of events that would seem to be too convenient or contrived if it happened in a movie or a TV show," Florio wrote.

The prank drew sharp criticism from sports media personalities. ESPN's Stephen A. Smith had particularly harsh words for Jax on "First Take."

"This is an incredible embarrassment that 21-year-old kid Jax should have had his ass whipped," Smith said on Wednesday. "I'm like this idiot actually went out there and did it. He had himself filmed doing it, I mean no regard for Shedeur, no regard for his father, no regard for any kind of decency or any kind of decorum."

Sanders, meanwhile, was already dealing with an unexpected slide in the draft. Once projected as a top three pick, he remained undrafted through the first round and was ultimately selected in the fifth round.