Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect DeVito’s appearance on Tuesday.
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito has made up for a squabble created by his involvement in an autograph appearance at a New Jersey pizzeria. On Tuesday, DeVito showed up on his own, for free, at Coniglio’s Old Fashioned after the local restaurant made headlines for accusing the quarterback’s agent, Sean Stellato, of doubling DeVito’s appearance fee.
DeVito — who along with Stellato has leaned into his Italian-American heritage — had been booked to appear at Coniglio’s on Tuesday but the event was canceled after Coniglio’s posted on Instagram that in the wake of last week’s win over the Green bay Packers on Monday Night Football, Stellato raised DeVito’s appearance fee from $10,000 to $20,000, which the owners couldn’t afford.
The situation led to a back-and-forth between the pizza shop and Stellato, each of whom eventually shared their side of the story with sports business reporter Darren Rovell. Stellato said there was no contract, but Coniglio’s insisted that an agreement had been made, and shared a text as evidence. DeVito, who is earning the rookie-minimum $750,000 this season, hasn’t publicly commented on the matter.
Last week, Stellato was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame alongside Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and six others. Next up for DeVito, who is 3-2 as the Giants’ starter, is a Christmas Day matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
