Tommy DeVito and his agent Sean Stellato have made quite an impression on the NFL world over the past few weeks.
DeVito has led the Giants to a 3–2 record since taking over the starting role in New York after a slew of quarterback injuries. As DeVito’s star has risen, so has that of Stellato, who has been seen wearing outlandish outfits alongside the player he represents and similarly leaned into his newfound stardom.
But for one man in sports media, Stellato has been a longtime thorn in the side.
ESPN’s Todd McShay explained to Ryen Russillo of The Ringer that he has beef with Stellato that goes all the way back to his days of high school football.
“Don’t get me started on Sean Stellato. The fact that Sean Stellato is still in my life drives me crazy,” McShay told Russillo on a recent episode of the latter’s podcast. “It’s an indictment on me, I’ll admit it up front.”
McShay explained that in his senior year of high school football, his team was undefeated heading into a game against Stellato’s Salem High School, with a trip to the “Super Bowl” on the line.
Stellato’s team beat McShay’s, but with two weeks left to play, the season still wasn’t over. As McShay’s school won their final two games, he remembers hearing on the field that Salem was trailing late, and with a loss, would push his team back into the postseason.
But it wasn’t meant to be.
“Sean Stellato throws a touchdown pass with like no time left. They win that game. We’re shut out [of the championship]. Season’s over. High school career is over.”
While his high school career was over, somehow, McShay’s experience with Stellato was not.
“Fifteen years later I get word from somebody that I know who has talked to Stellato. He’s writing a book about it. And Stellato wants to contact me to do an interview. I tell him to go bleep himself. And I think it’s all going to go away,” McShay said.
“And I’m sitting on my couch a couple of weeks ago, Monday Night Football, and I look at this guy and I’m like, Holy s---, that’s Sean Stellato. He won’t go away. He’s like this rodent that won’t go away in my life.”
McShay made clear that he knows he is the bad guy in the story he is telling.
“Again, all my fault, not Sean’s—I’m thrilled for Sean. Good guy, Italian-American Hall of Fame, all the great things. But now I am 46 years old and I am still feeling anguish towards Sean Stellato, and it’s not his fault.”
“Don’t get me going on Sean Stellato.”
— The Ringer (@ringer) December 18, 2023
Today on the #RussilloPod we learned that Todd McShay and Tommy DeVito’s agent go WAY back. 😂@ryenarussillo @McShay13 pic.twitter.com/t9cuTeq8tL
While McShay wasn’t expecting a high school rival to pop back up on his radar like Stellato has this year, maybe the newfound spotlight will bring the two together in the coming weeks to finally bury the hatchet.
