National Football League

Tommy DeVito makes good on canceled NJ pizzeria appearance, shows up for free

Updated Dec. 19, 2023 6:26 p.m. ET

Tommy DeVito made good on an original promise off the field on Tuesday.

The Giants quarterback showed up at Coniglio's Old Fashioned in New Jersey after the pizza joint canceled his appearance, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday. He also showed up for free after a dispute between DeVito's agent, Sean Stellato, and the owner of the pizzeria, Nino Coniglio, over compensation went public.

As part of his appearance at Coniglio's Old Fashioned, DeVito made old-fashioned sodas with Coniglio.

DeVito's appearance at the Morristown, New Jersey, pizzeria was scheduled over a week ago, but there were developments following the Giants' upset win over the Packers on Dec. 11 that put it into doubt. Coniglio's Old Fashioned announced it was canceling DeVito's appearance after it claimed his agent doubled the appearance fee from $10,000 to $20,000.

"No [DeVito] will NOT be [Coniglio's] this Tuesday as originally planned," the pizzeria wrote in an Instagram post. "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."

Stellato disputed the claim.

"It's a shame that the restaurant promoted that they would have Tommy when we didn't have a signed contract," Stellato told sports business reporter Darren Rovell. "We didn't raise the price because nothing was ever agreed to."

However, Coniglio sent Rovell a screenshot of a conversation he had with Stellato over text message that indicated that both parties had a prior agreement, though nothing was ever signed.

"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 told Rovell.

DeVito rose to fame earlier in this season when the undrafted rookie made his first appearance in October, replacing Tyrod Taylor in a loss to the Jets before taking over the starting quarterback job from Daniel Jones when he suffered a season-ending ACL tear. He grew up 11 miles away from MetLife Stadium in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, and it was later learned that he still lived at home with his parents.

DeVito's popularity ascended in New York City and the greater New York area last week after he led the Giants to an upset win over the Packers on Monday night, completing 17 of 21 passes for 158 yards to go with 71 rushing yards. He also led the Giants to a game-winning drive with Randy Bullock kicking the deciding field goal as time expired. It marked the third win in a row for the Giants, moving to 3-1 at the time in games DeVito started.

Earlier that night, DeVito's agent became a viral sensation due to his appearance on the Giants' sideline when he spoke to his client pregame. Stellato, who was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame last Friday, was also shown by the broadcast cameras giving kisses to DeVito's father following a Giants touchdown in that game.

Some of the hype around DeVito took a bit of a halt on Sunday though, at least nationally. The quarterback completed 20 of 34 passes for 177 yards and was sacked seven times in the Giants' 24-6 loss to the Saints, briefly leaving the game due to injury before returning. Adding insult to injury, Saints players mocked DeVito with the pinched-finger hand motion following a few of their sacks.

DeVito took the Saints' taunts on the chin, calling it "all fun and games" following the loss. The Giants fell to 5-9 on the season with Sunday's loss, nearly wiping out all of the playoff hopes they had left.

But while the national hype surrounding the Giants rookie might have died down a bit, the hometown quarterback still appears to be popular in New Jersey. Prior to making his appearance at Coniglio's Old Fashioned, DeVito had an appearance at Bubbakoo's Burritos in Livingston, New Jersey, where he was greeted by a long line of guests. The event was free with purchases at the restaurant, which benefitted Team LeGrand of The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

DeVito also had a limited public signing at The Hobby Hive in East Hanover, New Jersey scheduled for Tuesday. VIP packages for the event cost $225, which includes a photo with the quarterback and an autographed photo, among other things.

Once all of his public appearances are complete, DeVito and the Giants will begin preparations to take on the struggling Eagles on Christmas Day (4:25 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).