- DeVito’s agent said there was never a formal agreement in place with the shop
- The undrafted free agent has led the Giants to their best stretch of the season
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Tommy DeVito was able to make things right with a local New Jersey pizzeria on Tuesday night after he received plenty of backlash for allegedly raising his appearance fee.
The owners of Coniglio’s Old Fashioned pizzeria in Morristown (NJ) claimed DeVito had agreed to make an appearance at the restaurant for $10,000 but later doubled his fee after the Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers on December 11.
‘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,’ the pizzeria wrote when they canceled the event.
‘Apologies to anyone who had already purchased a ticket.’
The New York Giants quarterback’s agent, Sean Stellato, addressed the matter by stating how the event was announced before a deal was agreed upon.
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito made up for a miscommunication amid backlash
Sean Stellato, DeVito’s agent, said there was never a formal agreement in place with the shop
‘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,’ Stellato said, per Darren Rovell.
Restaurant owner Nino Coniglio responded with a screenshot of a message thread with Stellato.
The owners of Coniglio’s Old Fashioned pizzeria in Morristown (NJ) claimed DeVito had agreed to make an appearance at the restaurant for $10,000
‘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,’ Coniglio said via Rovell.
However, DeVito decided to make a surprise appearance at the restaurant free of charge on Tuesday night.
The quarterback spent several hours hanging out with the owners and fans.
Sean Salci, DeVito’s marketing agent and attorney, told TMZ that ‘DeVito and the owner made good’ and that he ‘got the full experience today.’
Since being thrust into the lineup due to injuries to fellow QB’s Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor, DeVito has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame and become one of the most popular players in the NFL.
The undrafted free agent out of Syracuse has gone 3-2 since taking over as the starter and rattled off three-straight wins to install a new level of enthusiasm into New York’s fanbase amid a mediocre season.
During his five games under center DeVito has completed 103 of 160 passes for 1,032 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.