Sometimes a source is just too good to be true.

Boston Herald columnist Ron Borges landed what he thought was a major scoop Thursday night: Tom Brady’s agent texted him to say the Patriots quarterback wanted a new contract in light of former backup Jimmy Garoppolo’s megadeal with the 49ers, and the five-time Super Bowl champion was willing to sit out offseason team activities until he got it.

Borges wrote a story, which the Herald published. Apparently the source was not Brady’s agent, but a random fan pretending to be Don Yee, according to screenshots of text messages secured by WEEI’s Kirk & Callahan sports talk radio show. The con artist pretending to be Yee is apparently “Nick in Boston,” a WEEI listener.

The Herald has removed the story from its website and suspended his column.

“A column by Ron Borges in today’s Herald regarding Patriot Tom Brady’s salary discussions was based on information which proved to be false,” read a statement posted on the Herald’s website. “The Herald apologizes to Brady, his agent Don Yee and the Patriots, and to our readers for this erroneous report.

“Borges’ column has been suspended pending further review.” Garoppolo signed a five-year, $137.5 million contract with the 49ers on Thursday. They landed him in a midseason trade with the Patriots, and Garoppolo went 5-0 as a starter. Brady, who just won NFL MVP honors at 40 years old, is signed through 2019 with the Patriots.

Borges spent 24 years as a writer at the rival Boston Globe, but he was suspended for two months for plagiarism in 2007 and then left the paper two weeks after his reinstatement. He joined the Herald staff as a columnist in 2008.