The Tommy DeVito fairy tale has taken an unexpected turn after Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, a local pizzeria in Morristown, N.J., announced on social media that they will no longer be hosting the Giants rookie quarterback for an event scheduled for today.
The decision came in response to an alleged doubling of DeVito’s appearance fee, revealed through an Instagram post on the pizzeria’s account.
The message read, “No @tommydevito will NOT be @coniglios this Tuesday as originally planned. After last week’s win, we received word from his agent that his appearance fee would be doubling (went from 10k to 20). We are a small family run business & decided $20,000 was a bit steep for 2 hours.”
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Coniglio’s Old Fashioned apologized to fans who may have purchased tickets, stating, “Sorry about that loss today #nygiants fans— but we’re Italian too & don’t like when someone says one thing & does another.”
In response, DeVito’s agent, Sean Stellato, refuted the claim of a fee increase, stating, “It’s a shame that the restaurant promoted that they would have Tommy when we didn’t have a signed contract. We didn’t raise the price because nothing was ever agreed to,” as reported by Darren Rovell.
Tommy DeVito’s agent after doubling Tommy’s appearance price to 20K on a small local family pizzeria: https://t.co/EHJA240L2B pic.twitter.com/l1jxh8kzqB
— evin (@KayvonOjulari) December 18, 2023
Nino Coniglio, the owner of Coniglio’s, countered Stellato’s statement, saying, “We agreed in principle to terms — 2 hours, 250 autographs and $10,000, and then the agent couldn’t be reached. He reached back out after Monday’s game to tell us the price was now $20,000.”
A screenshot of an apparent direct message exchange between Coniglio and Stellato was shared on Rovell’s X page.
The message attributed to Stellato read, “Ok. Please modify the agreement. I think the 30 minutes over is something that’s going to have to run past Tommy….at 60/40 split might work….good on the 2hrs/10k/250.”
This isn’t the end.
Coniglio’s owner Nino Coniglio on deal with DeVito.
“We agreed in principle to terms — 2 hours, 250 autographs and $10,000 and then the agent couldn’t be reached. He reached back out after Monday’s game to tell us the price was now $20,000.”
Contract… https://t.co/fBOFYqiIBi pic.twitter.com/JhZFBeAYSe
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 18, 2023
The fallout from the canceled appearance coincides with Stellato’s induction into the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame over the weekend, where he joined the DeVito family in New Orleans as the Giants suffered a 24-6 loss to the Saints.
DeVito wasn’t able to carry over the momemtum he built in Big Blue’s upset win over the Packers last week. Although in fairness, DeVito was far from the only problem in New Orleans.
The Giants offensive line, which had been so good against Green Bay, reverted back to their old form and allowed seven sacks against the hungry Saints defense. They also provided no open holes for running back Saquon Barkley who was held to just 14 yards on nine carries.
It’s clear that DeVito’s agent is trying to captilize on his client’s new-found fame. However, if Tommy Cutlets doesn’t deliver on the field, all of these off-field opportunities will soon disappear.
We’ll see how DeVito and the 5-9 Giants respond next week when they take on the rival Philadelphia Eagles on Christmas Day.
*in Italian
“Nah you listen, if you want Tommy Football to keep telling the world that you got the best pizza in the game than you shows up with a bag full of money kapeesh.” pic.twitter.com/92OrUULTvK
— At The Buzzer (@AtTheBuzzer1) December 18, 2023
What is your take on the DeVito-Coniglio’s situation?
Do you think Tommy’s agent is getting a little too full of himself?
Or is he merely trying to take advantage of an opportunity?
As far as actual football goes, do you think DeVito has the potential to be a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL? … Or is this all just a flash in the pan???