The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest has become an annual Fourth of July tradition, but competitive eating’s biggest star doesn’t plan on participating in it for the second straight year.
16-time champion Joey Chestnut didn’t compete in last year’s competition due to an issue Major League Eating and Nathan’s had with an endorsement deal he’d signed with Impossible Foods.
In an interview with The Blast, Chestnut said that he remains unclear about his relationship with MLE and Nathan’s and that, as of this moment, he has not been invited to take part in the 2025 competition.
“If they came back with similar terms we were talking about last year, I would definitely consider it,” Chestnut said. “I’d work with them to make sure there weren’t any conflicts with other sponsors… But honestly, I don’t think they want to go down that route. And yeah, it’s a bummer. I love that contest.”
“I still don’t know exactly where our relationship stands,” he added, saying that he was “really surprised” about their reaction to his partnership with Impossible Foods.
“I really didn’t think my relationship with Impossible would affect anything with Nathan’s,” Chestnut admitted. “It didn’t go against any of my previous agreements.”
Chestnut instead competed against Takeru Kobayashi in a one-on-one competition on Netflix, defeating his longtime rival 83-67 in the 10-minute competition.
He also continues dominating other eating competitions, most recently breaking his world record by consuming over 36 24-ounce bags of popcorn in just 8 minutes on Memorial Day.
The 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest was won by Patrick Bertoletti, who ate 58 hot dogs. Chestnut remains the record-holder for most hot dogs and buns eaten at 76 (2021).
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.