New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito and his player agent Sean Stellato are the talk of the town. And apparently, that brings back bad memories for NFL draft expert Todd McShay.
“Don’t get me going on Sean Stellato,” McShay began unexpectedly on the Week 16 edition of The Ringer’s “The Ryen Russillo Podcast.”
“The fact that Sean Stellato’s still in my life drives me crazy,” he went on, acknowledging that this odd personal grudge is “an indictment on me.”
McShay explained: “Senior year in high school, we’re 7-0, we’re going to play Salem, Massachusetts. If we win this game, we kind of know we’re going to win the last two games. If we win this game, we’re going to go play in the [high school district’s] Super Bowl.”
The long-time analyst went on to reveal that his high school lost to Salem because of none other than Sean Stellato — who was the opposing quarterback on Salem. Not only that, but Stellato came back to finish off McShay’s team a couple weeks later.
“Then we go on [and] win the next two games,” the story continued. “We’re getting word from our play-by-play guy — it’s trickling down to the sidelines — that Salem is losing to Beverly… and if they lose this game, we’re going to the Super Bowl again. Dreams are back on.”
Needless to say, Stellato channeled his inner Tommy DeVito and led a game-winning touchdown drive with no time remaining to oust McShay’s school from the finals, according to the analyst. He has never forgiven him since.
Todd McShay: NFL Player Agent Sean Stellato Is ‘Like This Rodent That Won’t Go Away’
The rant took a bit of a turn towards the end. Not only did McShay admit that he told Stellato to “go bleep himself” when asked to comment on the aforementioned high school football tale in the agent’s book, but he also got quite descriptive after that.
“I think it’s all going to go away, and then I’m sitting on my couch a couple weeks ago [watching] Monday Night Football and I look at this guy and I’m like — ‘Holy s***, that’s Sean Stellato. He won’t go away,’” McShay stated bluntly.
“Don’t get me going on Sean Stellato.”
Today on the #RussilloPod we learned that Todd McShay and Tommy DeVito’s agent go WAY back. 😂@ryenarussillo @McShay13 pic.twitter.com/t9cuTeq8tL
— The Ringer (@ringer) December 18, 2023
Voicing: “He’s like this rodent that won’t go away in my life.”
McShay did add that this entire situation is “all my fault,” not Stellato’s whatsoever, and that he’s “thrilled” for the agent’s recent emergence in the NFL world.
“Now I am 46 years old and I’m still feeling anguish towards Sean Stellato, and it’s not his fault,” McShay said, concluding the hilarious yet bizarre rant.
Giants QB Tommy DeVito Rights a Wrong After Marketing Disagreement in Morristown, NJ
DeVito and Stellato were also in the news over the past few days for another matter entirely, after a bit of a marketing disagreement between the quarterback and his agent made headlines.
“[Morristown, New Jersey pizzeria] Coniglio’s announced on Monday, Dec. 18 that the 25-year-old Don Bosco grad wouldn’t be coming [for a scheduled meet-and-greet] after all on Tuesday, Dec. 19, after his appearance fee jumped from $10,000 to $20,000,” the Daily Voice’s Cecilia Levine reported.
Class Act: Giants QB Tommy DeVito showed up on his own this afternoon and unpaid to Coniglios, the pizza shop that originally had scheduled an appearance.
Making sodas the old fashioned way with owner Nino Coniglio. pic.twitter.com/k8w8pK5OkG
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 19, 2023
Sports business reporter Darren Rovell shared video of DeVito at Coniglio’s on X, referring to the Giants quarterback as a “class act.”
“Giants QB Tommy DeVito showed up on his own this afternoon and unpaid to Coniglios, the pizza shop that originally had scheduled an appearance,” Rovell explained. “Making sodas the old fashioned way with owner Nino Coniglio.”
He did this just after “signing autographs at Bubbakoo’s Burritos in Livingston,” according to the Daily Voice.
“[DeVito] showed up, he apologized, and he said, ‘I’m never going to let this happen to any small business again,’” Coniglio told the Daily Voice. “I was real proud to shake his hand and look him in the eye. He said, ‘This wasn’t me.’”
Apparently, Stellato is taking the heat for this debacle. On December 17, Rovell relayed a quote from the player agent that read: “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.”
After the dispute was resolved, New York Post reporter Paul Schwartz revealed that DeVito would be handing over all marketing duties to Maxx MGMT marketing rep Maxx Lepselter, who was first hired by the QB in early December. Stellato will still handle any and all “football matters” as his “contract agent,” per Schwartz.
