LET THE MAN EAT! Joey Chestnut In Talks With Major League Eating To Return To Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest This July 4th

TMZ – Joey Chestnut could very well make his return to Coney Island on the Fourth of July -- the world's greatest eater is currently in talks with organizers to compete in the Nathan's Hot Dog contest this year.

TMZ Sports is told Jaws and Major League Eating are actively negotiating to get the 16-time champion back doing what he does best on Independence Day ... and from the sounds of it, both sides want to get it done.

We're told the initial rift that caused Chestnut's absence from the 2024 contest -- his sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods -- is not a factor in discussions.

As we previously reported, Jaws and MLE had beef over his Impossible contract ... with the org. saying Chestnut chose his fate when he agreed to represent "a rival brand." Jaws, on the other hand, said the org. was moving the goalposts on him ... as he did not have a contract with Nathan's or MLE.

Fans were still able to watch Jaws do his thing a few weeks later -- he had a one-on-one Netflix showdown with longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi ... which ended in a world-record 83 dogs downed and an easy win over his opponent, who had 66 tube stakes in his tummy.

As for the Fourth of July contest, we previously spoke with 2024 winner Patrick Bertoletti ... who admitted his victory had an asterisk due to Jaws' absence.

However it has to happen, Major League Eating and the people at Nathan's need do do whatever it is they can to assure Joey Chestnut is shoveling wieners and buns down his throat on stage in Coney Island this July 4th. For as long Joey Chestnut is the best eater in the world. For long as Joey Chestnut damn well pleases. We all remember what happened last July 4th. Leading up to the contest, Joey Chestnut was banned from competing after he was caught rubbing elbows with the vegan community (i.e. had an endorsement with Impossible Foods, who Nathan's considered a competing brand).

In Joey "Jaws" Chestnut's absence, Patrick Bertoletti was crowned the winner of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest after eating a pedestrian 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes. It was only the 2nd time since 2007 when Joey Chestnut burst onto the scene and took down Kobayashi that a man other than Joey Jaws won the contest (somehow a guy named Matt Stonie managed to beat in him in 2015, only for Joey Chestnut to come back next year and out eat him by 17 dogs). Even last year on July 4th, when Joey Chestnut was BANNED from competing, he faced off against three U.S. Soliders at Fort Bliss in a hot dog eating contest where he ate 57 dogs in just 5 minutes. One less than Nathan's 2024 Champion Patrick Bertoletti ate in 10. 

And later that year, Chestnut took to Netflix to face off against old rival Takeru Kobayashi, where he broke his own personal record (i.e. set a world record) by eating 83 hot dogs in a regulation 10 minute bout. 

Major League Eating and Nathan's Hot Dogs dropped the ball big time last year. To do Joey Chestnut dirty like that a year after he personally saved the Hot Dog Eating Contest by downright refusing to not eat when the competition was "called off" due to lightning.

Advertisement

Maybe Nathan's was still mad about Joey Chestnut showing them up, and putting the Major League Eating community if grave danger by making them eat in harsh conditions. Maybe they wanted to show he wasn't bigger than eating. Or maybe that whole thing was a work, and banning Joey Chestnut in 2024 was just a way for Major League Eating to drum up a little intrigue in a competition that had been so heavily dominated by Joey Chestnut that it was barely even a competition anymore. All so that in 2025, Joey Chestnut can make his triumphant return, and ESPN will bash the all-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest ratings record. I do feel like that's a very real possibility. But whatever has to happen, Impossible Food contracts be damned, it is imperative that Joey Chestnut is eating dogs in Coney Island next month. 

Joey Chestnut is bigger than hot dogs. He is bigger than eating. It would be a travesty if Joey Chestnut isn't eating hot dogs every July 4th until some young gun manages to dethrone him for real. Because that's when the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is going to get really good. When Joey Chestnut starts to slow down and there's a new up and comer biting at his heels. Maybe that newcomer takes down Joey Chestnut a couple years in a row in 2033 & 2034. The world will think Joey Chestnut is washed. That he's too old to eat at the highest level anymore. But then in one final, incredible feat of eating strength, Joey Chestnut dials back the clock and takes him down one more time in 2035. I know a lot of competitors want to go out at the top of their game, but I want to see Joey Chestnut competing into his 50's. As great of an American tradition it is to watch Joey Chestnut dominate the field on Independence Day, I am looking forward to the hot dog eating competition to be an actual competition again. But at the same time, I don't want to live in a world where it doesn't feature Joey Chestnut.

Do the right thing Nathan's. Let the man eat your dogs.