Why did Coniglio's Pizzeria drop Tommy DeVito? NJ Restaurant's $20,000 dispute with Giants QB explained

Coniglio's Pizzeria in New Jersey was supposed to have Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito in their premises to sign autographs. It was part of a burgeoning reputation that the New York starter has cultivated ever since replacing the injured Daniel Jones.

It has been a feel-good story about a boy who still lives with his parents in New Jersey and eats home-cooked Italian food, and is now the starter for the local team. He has also leaned in heavily to his heritage, with his signature celebration of "pinched fingers" after scoring plays.

All of this was too good for Coniglio's to pass up and they wanted Tommy "Cutlets", as he is now known, to sign some autographs this Tuesday. The deal was that those who came would have to pay $50 per signature and the quarterback was booked for $10,000.

But with his rapid rise, especially after leading the Giants to win over the Packers with a two-minute drill, rumors have it that his asking price is now $20,000. With the price doubled, Coniglio's pulled out of the campaign as it was no longer sustainable for them.

Tommy DeVito's agent refutes Coniglio's pizzeria rumors

Tommy DeVito's agent, Sean Stellato, responded to this whole situation by saying that there was never a signed contract with the quarterback and that it was shame that the event had been promoted. He was reported to have said:

“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.”

It is quite possible that a small business went by verbal confirmation and did not go through long contractual processes as is more common in the professional sports world. But it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for many observers because Tommy DeVito was supposed to be an approachable superstar.

And after this whole kerfuffle with Coniglio's, Tommy DeVito's week did not get any better as the Giants lost 24-6 to the New Orleans Saints. All the work that had been done against the Green Bay Packers was undone there. It shows what everyone already knew: the New York quarterback is still raw and his winning streak was unsustainable in a team that had holes throughout its roster.

Perhaps the humbling on the field might make him and his agent change tack off the field too. On the other hand, professional sports success is so fleeting, they might decide to dig in even further and milk his worth while it is climbing.