After 16-time champion Joey Chestnut signed with the vegan brand, the era of Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, deemed unable to compete in the beloved 4th of July event, has come to an end.
Major League Eating said in a statement Tuesday that it was “devastated to learn” of Chestnut’s betrayal: Rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating, “representing a competing brand that sells plant-based hot dogs. Competition.”
Although the organization has not named a competing brand, The New York Post Chestnut recently announced that it has gone into business with Impossible Foods.
Major League Eating “has made major efforts in recent months to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to an appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival off-brand hot dog eating contest on Labor Day,” but they’d been unable to come to an agreement.
“We’ve operated under the same basic hot dog exclusive rules for nearly two decades,” League said. “However, Joey and his managers seem to have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-term relationship.”
In A statement Posting on social media several hours later, Chestnut said he was “flattened” by the ban, which he said he learned about from media reports.
“I want to compete in that event, celebrate America on the 4th with my fans across this great country, and I’m training to defend my title,” he said.
“To set the record straight,” the competitive eater continued, “I do not have a contract with MLE or Nathans, and they want to change the rules from last years in relation to other partners I work with.”
He thanked his fans and assured them that they will see him goofy again soon. “Be hungry!”
Chestnut, 40, won the hot dog eating contest every year from 2007 to 2014 and then again from 2016 to 2023. (Matt Stoney beat him by two dogs in 2015.) He holds the record for most franks ever swallowed in competition. , beating the belt-pasting 76 in 2021.
Major League Eating, which has hailed him as “an American hero,” hopes Chestnut can return home to the competition after no longer representing his rival.
The Nathan Tournament has been held at Coney Island in New York City every summer since 1979. In 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, an indoor arena a few miles away was held without a crowd, with only five competitors. He sat at the table. Unsurprisingly, Chestnut took home the gold with 75 hot dogs.
