Joey Chestnut, the winner of eight consecutive Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest titles, will not participate in this year’s competition due to a deal he made to represent a rival hot dog brand, Major League Eating (MLE) confirmed Tuesday.
“I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years I’m banned from the Nathan’s July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest,” Chestnut wrote on X. “I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title. To set the record straight, I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans and they are looking to change the rules from past years as it relates to other partners I can work with.
“This is apparently the basis on which I’m being banned, and it doesn’t impact the July 4th event. Sadly, this is the decision Nathan’s and Major League Eating are making, and it will deprive the great fans of the holiday’s usual joy and entertainment.”
(1/3)I was gutted to learn from the media that after 19 years Im banned from the Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest. I love competing in that event, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th and I have been training to defend my title.
— Joey Chestnut (@joeyjaws) June 11, 2024
Chestnut is partnering with Impossible Foods, a plant-based brand that recently launched a vegan alternative for beef hot dogs, the company confirmed. The New York Post first reported the news.
“We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” MLE, which runs the event, said in a statement. “MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day.”
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Chestnut is ineligible to compete under the event’s rules after choosing to represent a rival brand, but he was not banned from making an appearance at the contest, a representative for MLE said.
“We want him to attend,” MLE representative George Shea said in an email to The Athletic. “We tried everything to get him to attend. … We want him there and welcome him back anytime.”
MLE said it has operated under the same “hot dog exclusivity provisions” for nearly two decades, and it hopes Chestnut — who MLE called “an American hero” — will return to the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest “when he is not representing a rival brand.”
“We love Joey and support him in any contest he chooses,” an Impossible Foods spokesperson said in a statement. “It’s OK to experiment with a new dog. Meat eaters shouldn’t have to be exclusive to just one wiener.”
The Nathan’s hot dog eating contest is held annually on July 4 at Coney Island in New York. Chestnut, 40, has won the men’s contest in 16 of the last 17 years. He ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes last year to capture his 16th Mustard Belt and set the current world record of 76 hot dogs and buns eaten in 10 minutes in 2021.
“To my fans, I love you and appreciate you,” Chestnut said X. “Rest assured that you’ll see me eat again soon!! STAY HUNGRY!”
Chestnut likely would have been the overwhelming favorite to win again in 2024; he had -5000 odds to prevail last year, according to BetMGM.
(Photo: Bobby Bank / Getty Images)