The Fourth of July features numerous great traditions: family cookouts, fireworks and, of course, Joey Chestnut dominating the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island in Brooklyn.
Chestnut's dominant reign began in 2007, when he dethroned Takeru Kobayashi, winner of the contest every year from '01 to '06. He took home the Mustard Belt in 16 of 17 years (suffering a stunning loss in 2015), until last July, when Nathan's prevented Chestnut from taking the stage due to his partnership with plant-based food company, Impossible Foods.
Patrick Bertoletti won the Nathan's event, eating 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes—an impressive mark, but just one more hot dog than Chestnut put down in just five minutes in Netflix's counterprogrammed event. Chestnut would break his own world record in September, downing 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes in a competition with Kobayashi.
Nearly a year removed from the '24 Hot Dog Eating Contest, one would assume that Chestnut and Nathan's would have had time to put aside their differences for the good of the sport. However, that is not the case. With less than six weeks until Independence Day, the two sides still haven't reached an agreement for Chestnut—the event's record 16-time champion—to return to Coney Island, he told The Blast.
“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.”
Chestnut explained that he didn't foresee any issues with Nathan's as a result of his Impossible Foods sponsorship, stating that he was taking part in a "Meatless Mondays" campaign that he didn't believe had any conflict with his previous agreements with the hot dog giant.
“I was really surprised they took offense to that,” he said. “It was for Mondays, for people who aren’t even eating meat. I still don’t know exactly where our relationship stands.”
Kobayashi's relationship with the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest ended in 2010 due to a contract dispute. Now, 15 years later, Nathan's is at risk of losing the world's greatest eater once again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joey Chestnut Still Doesn't Know Whether He'll Be in Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
