Will Joey Chestnut Return To Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest?

Joey Chestnut was banned from this yr’s Fourth of July Nathan’s Scorching Canine Consuming Contest after hanging a take care of Unattainable Meals, a vegan firm that lately launched a plant-based scorching canine.

Chestnut didn’t waste time talking out after the information hit, calling the choice “very disappointing” in a social media put up.

However even after being banned, it appears to be like like Joey Chestnut isn’t holding a grudge as he’s already mentioned he’d be more than pleased to make a comeback on the annual occasion.

When requested if he’d think about a return to the competitors, 40-year-old Chestnut instructed Us Weekly he “completely” would.

“They must be cheap,” he instructed the outlet at Netflix’s “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” press convention. “I’d love to return as a result of this yr I’ve to eat scorching canine with out dunking … I’ve a hybrid technique of dunking and never dunking. As a result of I believe this contest has made me even higher.”

“By all my outdated agreements, I ought to have been capable of work with Unattainable Meals, and so they modified the settlement this yr,” he defined, referring to his latest take care of the vegan meals firm and his settlement with Main League Consuming.

“We’re devastated to study that Joey Chestnut has chosen to symbolize a rival model that sells plant-based scorching canine quite than competing within the 2024 Nathan’s Well-known Fourth of July Scorching Canine Consuming Contest,” Main League Consuming mentioned in a press release earlier this yr.

“MLE and Nathan’s went to nice lengths to accommodate Joey and his administration group, agreeing to the looks charge and permitting Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded scorching canine consuming contest on Labor Day.”

The assertion got here after Chestnut made a take care of Unattainable Meals, a vegan firm that lately launched a plant-based vegan canine. “For practically twenty years, we have now labored beneath the identical primary scorching canine exclusivity provisions,” the MLE added. “Nonetheless, it appears that evidently Joey and his managers have prioritized a brand new partnership with a distinct model over our long-time relationship.”

“We love Joey and assist him in any contest he chooses,” an Unattainable Meals spokesperson instructed People Magazine after the information broke. “It is OK to experiment with a brand new canine. Meat eaters should not must be unique to only one wiener.”

After the information, Chestnut broke his silence, claiming, “We’ve labored beneath the identical primary scorching canine exclusivity provisions for practically twenty years. Nonetheless, it appears that evidently Joey and his managers have prioritized a brand new partnership with a distinct scorching canine model over our long-time relationship.”

“To set the document straight, I should not have a contract with MLE or Nathan’s and so they want to change the principles from previous years because it pertains to different companions I can work with,” Chestnut added in his assertion. “That is apparently the premise on which I’m being banned, and it doesn’t impression the July 4th contest.”

“Sadly, that is the choice Nathan’s and Main League Consuming are making and it’ll deprive the nice followers of the vacation’s common pleasure and leisure. To my followers, I really like you and respect you,” he added. “Relaxation assured that you simply’ll see me eat once more quickly. Keep tuned and STAY HUNGRY!”

As reported by the New York Post, Chestnut obtained $200,000 to take part within the 2023 Nathan’s Scorching Canine Consuming Competitors and was supplied a four-year contract value $1.2 million to maintain competing within the occasion, previous to his ban.

Earlier this yr, it was revealed that the 16-time scorching dog-eating champion, Chestnut, would face off in opposition to six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi in a Netflix particular. This marks the primary time Chestnut and Kobayashi have competed in opposition to one another in 15 years.

Earlier than the matchup, Chestnut instructed Us Weekly that going up in opposition to 46-year-old Kobayashi pushes him to be a greater competitor and to “hit numbers which can be fairly spectacular.” Chestnut additionally mentioned, “I’m going to do my greatest, and I’m hoping that I’ll come out on prime.”

Joey Chestnut received 83 to 67.