The Atlanta Falcons have been fined $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been fined $100,000 as the result of Ulbrich’s son participating in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.

The NFL confirmed the fines on Wednesday for the roles by the Falcons and Ulbrich in failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL draft.

The Falcons, who disclosed the role of Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax in the prank call as Sanders was waiting for his name to be called in the draft, said they accept the discipline from the league.

“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.

“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.”

The Falcons also said the Ulbrich family “is working with the organization to participate in community service initiatives in relation to last week’s matter.”

On Sunday, the Falcons said in a statement that Jax Ulbrich “unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call.”

Jax Ulbrich was sitting beside an unidentified friend who actually made the call to Sanders on Friday, the second day of the draft. Sanders, a standout quarterback from Colorado, is the son of Buffaloes coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who began his NFL career with the Falcons.

Sanders, who entered the draft expecting to be a first-round pick, was selected Saturday in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.

The Falcons said Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or the prank until after the fact. The team offered “sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family.” Jax Ulbrich also apologized on social media.

The New York Jets exercised the fifth-year contract options for all three of their 2022 first-round draft picks: cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and edge rusher Jermaine Johnson.

The moves, announced by the team Wednesday, were expected after general manager Darren Mougey said last week the Jets would exercise the options on the three who are considered foundation-type players.

Gardner, Wilson and Johnson have been bright spots during a rough stretch for a franchise that has the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 14 seasons.

According to Over the Cap’s projections on the fifth-year options that kick in during the 2026 season, Gardner would receive $20.2 million, Wilson $16.8 million and Johnson $13.4 million — with the salaries guaranteed.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

The Ontario Professional Baseball Club, the future Single-A affiliate of the Dodgers, announced the appointment of Allan Benavides as its first general manager on Wednesday.

Benavides was the general manager for the Eugene Emeralds for the past 15 years, where the club earned honors in promotional excellence and organizational achievement. Benavides helped launch popular alternative brands like the Los Monarcas de Eugene and the Exploding Whales.

MOTORSPORTS

The Mexico City Grand Prix will remain on the F1 calendar through at least the 2028 season after a three-year contract extension was announced on Wednesday, and the city’s mayor said negotiations are ongoing for an even longer deal.

With the contract for the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit set to expire at the end of this season, the organizers and local authorities needed to get a deal done.

“This (contract) does not mean that it is the end of it, we needed to secure those dates, but early next year we will have good news regarding the continuity of this wonderful event for years to come in Mexico City,” mayor Clara Brugada said at a press conference.

Mexico first hosted an F1 championship race in 1963 and has been on the calendar every year since 2015, excluding 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim in court Wednesday.

In a 20-page filing in district court in North Carolina, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports opposed NASCAR’s motion to amend its original counterclaim. The teams argued that the need to amend the counterclaim further demonstrates the weakness of NASCAR’s arguments, calling them an attempt by NASCAR to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.

NASCAR’s counterclaim singled out Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. Jordan is co-owner of 23XI Racing.

The legal battle began after more than two years of negotiations on new charter agreements — NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise model — and the 30-page filing contends that Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.

Front Row and 23XI were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer a mere 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.

The charters were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season and twice have been extended. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging NASCAR and the France family that owns the stock car series are a monopoly.

TENNIS

Iga Swiatek survived “one of the weirdest matches” after losing the first six games and recovering to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

The second-ranked Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the 21-year-old American beat teenager Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the youngest WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2009.

Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court.

“It was one of the weirdest matches I played,” Swiatek said. “Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything.”

WNBA

Caitlin Clark fans will have to pay a premium on the secondary market if they want to be at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Sunday’s matchup between the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and the Brazilian national team.

The average paid price of $440 per ticket on the secondary market as of Wednesday has made it the most in-demand event involving Clark, according to ticketing technology company Victory Live, which analyzes sales across the secondary market.

Clark will be playing on the court where she rose to stardom with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The all-time leading scorer in Division I history is from West Des Moines and played for the Hawkeyes from 2020-24. She was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and the league’s rookie of the year.

Asking prices on the secondary market Wednesday for the preseason game ranged from $146 to $2,368. The previous high average paid price for a Clark game was $411. That was March 3, 2024, against Ohio State.

GOLF

Tyler Collet never had an easier time getting to a major, closing with an even-par 72 on Wednesday to win the PGA Professional Championship in Port St. Lucie, Florida by a record 10 shots to lead 20 club pros who qualified for the PGA Championship.

Collet started the final round on the Wanamaker course at PGA Golf Club with a seven-shot lead and that was never challenged. His goal was not to have a round over par, and he achieved that by making an 18-foot bogey putt on the final hole.

He finished at 15-under 272 and will be playing for the fourth time in the PGA Championship, which starts May 15 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Michael Block, the California club pro and feel-good story from the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill, made it to the PGA Championship for the third straight year.