A column in the Boston Herald saying New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was prepared to hold out for more money was pulled after it appeared the writer, Ron Borges, was pranked by a fake source.

Borges, citing unnamed “sources” close to Tom Brady, wrote Friday that Brady was ready to hold out of offseason work if the Patriots didn’t give him a pay raise, comparable to the contract the San Francisco 49ers just gave Brady’s former backup, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo signed a record-breaking, five-year contract Thursday with the San Francisco 49ers that will pay him a reported $137.5 million.

Boston radio station WEEI claimed that one of its listeners, “Nick in Boston,” pulled a prank on Borges with text messages pretending to be from Brady’s agent, Don Yee.

Nick told WEEI on Friday the prank was easy to pull off.

From Pro Football Talk: “Somebody tweeted Ron Borges’ phone number and I just picked it up and for some reason I just thought, ‘Hey, I’ll text him and say I’m Don Yee.’ And he just went with it for some reason,” Nick in Boston said.

“Here’s the funny part. Well, it’s all funny but here’s the funnier part: He tried to call me three times and I just didn’t answer. But then I was just like, whatever, screw it, I’ll just call him and he’s gonna know it’s not Don Yee. But I called him and I was just like, ‘Hey, Ronnie, it’s Don.’ ”

The Boston Herald said it’s investigating the matter.

Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported that Brady’s reported demand is inaccurate. Curran’s source said Borges’ report is “off the reservation.”

In 2007, Borges left the Boston Globe for plagiarizing another reporter’s column.

49ERS: Jimmy Garoppolo could have waited and cashed in even more than he did after other quarterbacks re-set the market.

The team could have used a franchise tag instead of making a long-term commitment to make sure Garoppolo was worth a hefty investment after only seven NFL starts.

But both sides wanted this resolved quickly, and did so with a contract that will pay Garoppolo a record $27.5 million per season over the next five years.

“This is where I want to be, honestly,” Garoppolo said. “I wanted to get this deal done as fast as possible. It will only help our team going forward going into free agency. … I wanted to be here. I was excited to be here. I’m happy we got it done as fast as we did.”

Garoppolo’s $137.5 million contract has the richest annual value in NFL history, topping the deal Matthew Stafford of Detroit signed last year by $500,000 a season.

The deal includes nearly $49 million that is fully guaranteed, more than $74 million guaranteed for injury and more than $86 million that will be paid out over the first three seasons.

The franchise tag could have been a safer option for both sides, leading to more money for Garoppolo if he kept playing at the high level he showed this past season and more protection for the 49ers if he didn’t reach that level.

But neither side was eager to go in that direction.

“We became convinced we had that as an option but we didn’t want to use it,” General Manager John Lynch said. “We wanted to make Jimmy a 49er for a long, long time. Do you have to have some faith for that? Absolutely. But he earned that faith we had for him. I know it wasn’t a super long time but we felt we had a really good grasp on the talent and that was only confirmed when he got here.”

LIONS: Detroit extended General Manager Bob Quinn’s contract to match the length of the deal it gave Coach Matt Patricia .

Detroit announced the agreement four days after hiring Patricia. The Lions haven’t provided details on the length of Quinn or Patricia’s contracts.

The team president, Rod Wood, said the extension ensures stability.

Quinn was hired two years ago after he worked in New England’s personnel department for 16 years. He retained Coach Jim Caldwell in 2016 and fired him last month with a 36-28 record over four regular seasons – plus two postseason losses.

Also, Bo Davis, who has 24 years of experience, will coach the defensive line.

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