All hell broke loose in Who Dat Nation a little over an hour ago when a rumor that Drew Brees had signed a 5-year, $115 million contract with the Saints spread like wildfire over the internet. But upon further examination, it looks like it's all just a load of bunk that started from a single message board post. I thought it only fair to dedicate a separate post detailing how this wild and unconfirmed rumor started, then spread.
It appears the origin of all the chaos was this single Tiger Droppings post at 4:29pm CST.
Similar information was also posted on Saints Report at 5:20pm CST, almost an hour later. My presumption is that Saints Report post was merely a regurgitation from Tiger Droppings. Or the same person was the source of both postings.
But the rumor really spread like wildfire when Fleurty Girl claimed to have "good enough sources" and tweeted about the signing at 5:25pm CST. It was also retweeted by Fletcher Mackel, giving it the appearance of credibility.
Fleurty Girl then revealed that her source was simply the original Tiger Droppings post. Pfft.
UPDATE [04/04/12 7:05 PM CDT ]: As we thought, the rumor was completely untrue. Larry Holder and Jason La Canfora both confirm:
I can't believe I'm tweeting this, but there is NO Brees deal in place according to my source who has never been wrong. My god.
For all those asking for the second time this week about rumor of Drew Brees signing with Saints - not true. Nothing to it
Score another one for Message Board Guy. This is why you and your forum have the reputation you do and why I stay away.