New England Patriots

Boston Herald Column Suspended After Writer Falls for Tom Brady Hoax

Boston Herald columnist Ron Borges has since been suspended by the paper

A Boston Herald sportswriter's column has been suspended after his scoop citing unnamed "sources" claiming that Tom Brady was looking for a big pay raise was revealed to be a hoax.

NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk reports that Ron Borges' column, which claimed that the New England Patriots quarterback was looking for a contract deal along the lines that his former teammate Jimmy Garoppolo landed with the San Francisco 49ers, turned out to be a prank when radio station WEEI revealed that one of its callers had texted Borges pretending to be Brady's agent.

Boston Herald's sports editor told PFT that the paper was "looking into it." The column was pulled from the Boston Herald's website Friday morning, and by 3 p.m., the paper released a statement 

By 3 p.m., the Herald released a statement apologizing to Tom Brady, Brady's agent, the New England Patriots and their readers, saying the Borges' column "was based on information that proved to be false."

"Borges' column has been suspended pending further review," the Herald said in its statement on the matter.

Garoppolo, who was traded by the Patriots to the 49ers last year, signed a five-year, $137.5 million contract extension Thursday that makes him the highest paid player in the NFL.

Borges' column, under the headline "Show Me the Money," cited sources close to Brady saying that he wouldn't participate in any offseason team activities unless he received a new contract comparable to Garoppolo's.

Soon after the column appeared online, several other Patriots reporters said there was no truth to the rumor.

Borges, who used to write for the Boston Globe, was suspended by that paper back in 2007 following plagiarism allegations.

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