New York Giants star QB Tommy DeVito makes appearance at New Jersey pizzeria after dispute over fee
(CNN) — Following a dispute over an appearance fee, NFL star Tommy DeVito has smoothed things over with a New Jersey pizzeria.
Coniglio’s Old Fashioned Pizzeria in Morristown, New Jersey, had originally advertised that the New York Giants quarterback would be appearing at the restaurant on Tuesday, only to then say that the event was off due to a steep rise in the appearance fee apparently being requested.
This, the pizzeria said, came after the Giants’ recent win over the Green Bay Packers.
“No @tommydevito will NOT be @coniglios this Tuesday as originally planned,” Coniglio’s posted Sunday.
“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. Apologies to anyone who had already purchased a ticket.”
According to Action Network’s Darren Rovell, DeVito’s agent, Sean Stellato, said that he and his client hadn’t raised the price because no contract was ever signed, only for Coniglio’s to produce a screengrab of a conversation in which the two sides appeared to have made an informal agreement for $10K.
But all’s well that ends well as the legend of DeVito continues to grow. “Tommy Cutlets,” who has earned the nickname courtesy of the popular Italian American staple, did make a surprise cameo at Coniglio’s on Tuesday – reportedly for no money, according to Rovell.
“It was really important to me,” DeVito told The New York Post about making the appearance.
“There was a lot going at that time – and a lot of people doing different things as part of my team.
“Some things slipped through the cracks, and as soon as I was made aware of it – which was Monday, when it hit my phone – that’s when I was like: ‘We need to go in there, meet him face to face, set things right, eat the awesome pizza and have fun.’”
Nino Coniglio, owner of the pizzeria, told the Post he was sorry for any bad press DeVito had received over the initial cancellation.
CNN Sport has reached out to Stellato and Coniglio’s for comment.
‘Local boy makes good’
DeVito, who masterminded the game-winning drive to inspire the Giants in their recent win over the Packers earlier this month, and Stellato have embraced their Italian heritage as the quarterback has risen to prominence this season.
Local boy DeVito still lives at home with his parents, his mom still makes his bed and he entered the league as a largely unheralded prospect.
Stellato has previously said DeVito is very particular about which companies he’ll align himself with, reassuring that the quarterback has not forgotten where he came from.
“It’s local boy makes good. He’s playing for his hometown team and what he’s doing is just unbelievable for all the people in New Jersey, all the people in New York and all the Giants fans,” Stellato added.
“He’s the poster child for the underdog.”
The Giants lost to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday 24-6 with DeVito throwing 20-for-34 and 177 yards. New York kept it close until halftime, trailing 7-6, but were shutout in the second half when the Saints ran away with the victory behind a strong Derek Carr performance – throwing for 218 yards and three touchdowns – under center.
CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia, Ben Church and Abby Phillip contributed to this report.
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