It’s safe to say that Chestnut, 40, is the king of competitive eating. He has won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest a record 16 times: with the exception of a loss to Matt Stonie in 2015, he has won every year since 2007.
Most years, Chestnut blows away the competition: people tune in less to see if Chestnut will win it again, but to see if he’ll somehow top his own records. His personal best is an impressive but stomach-churning 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
But this year, Joey Chestnut will suddenly be absent from the corner of Surf and Stillwell, after a reported falling out with contest organizers about his endorsement of a rival hot dog brand.
According to the New York Post, Chestnut endorsed the plant-based vegan hot dogs produced by Impossible Foods. Endorsing a rival hot dog brand reportedly crossed a major line in the sand for Nathan’s and Major League Eating.
“He’s the Michael Jordan of competitive eating. But imagine if Michael Jordan said to Nike, ‘I love being the face of Nike but I want to do commercials for Adidas too,” an insider told the Post.
The source said that Chestnut was paid $200,000 to appear in last year’s contest, and was offered $1.2 million for a four-year contract. Major League Eating said they also allowed Chestnut to compete in a rival hot dog eating contest on Labor Day, on the condition that no other hot dog product was endorsed.
Neither Chestnut nor Impossible Foods has commented on the matter, and it’s not clear what kind of contract they agreed to.
“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 said in a statement.
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different brand over our long-time relationship.”
As of now, Chestnut has been banned for the upcoming 2024 contest, which will air on ESPN on July 4. However, there is reportedly some room to negotiate a truce: the source told the Post that the two sides “could still come to a resolution.”
The situation bears some resemblance to to the departure of another competitive eating star, Takeru Kobayashi, who first popularized the event by shattering records and winning six titles, but was banned from competing after refusing to sign an exclusivity contract.
The potential departure of Chestnut from the Nathan’s contest could clear a path for other top-ranking eaters to finally become champion and emerge as the contest’s new star competitor — though it remains to be seen if Chestnut is really gone for good.
