Fred Beyer, a popular YouTube personality, was banned indefinitely by the NFL for rushing the stage at the 2026 draft to announce the 67th overall pick during the third round on Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Beyer, 24, who documented his prank in a 19-minute YouTube video, explained that his plan to crash the draft derived from an encounter with former All-Pro Steelers running back, LeVeon Bell — when Bell “ducked me in a 1-v-1” four months before the draft.
The YouTuber, who was wearing a black polo with the Steelers logo, got into the draft through the staff entrance with a fake credential he made at Staples.
Beyer ran up the stairs and onto the stage as the Las Vegas Raiders were on the clock.
“With the 67th pick,” Beyer said before his mic was cut off and production members yelled for him to get off the stage.
He went on to shout that the Steelers had selected “Luke Maxer.”
Beyer ultimately was escorted backstage and questioned by NFL reps before they took his credential.
“Cam Hayward was like, ‘Should I have tackled him?’ I want to DM him,” Beyer said.
Hayward was seen on the stage at the time.
Police were called when NFL reps discovered that Beyer gave them a fake name.
As Beyer was being escorted out of the draft, he was given a ban letter by an NFL rep and asked to sign it.
“You are indefinitely banned from any NFL game or event,” the letter said as Beyer read it allowed. “The ban is league-wide and will be enforced rigorously. Should you be found at any NFL game or event, law enforcement will be summoned and you will be arrested.
“We sincerely hope that you will take this opportunity to reflect on your actions.”
One of the cops asked Beyer for a photo after escorting him out of the draft.
At the beginning of the video, Beyer explained his plan to prank the city of Pittsburgh.
“LeVeon has ducked this smoke for too long… I knew something had to be done that he simply could not ignore: Prank his own city,” Beyer said in the video, titled, “Trolling the NFL Draft.”
Beyer, who has two million subscribers on YouTube, explained that he grew out his facial hair and put on about nine and a half pounds so that people wouldn’t recognize him, but fans still approached him for pictures.
“Yeah, I’m going to jail tonight,” he added.
