HOT DAMN
Why is Joey Chestnut NOT competing in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024?
Scroll down to find out the world record for most hot dogs eaten in ten minutes
THE annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place TODAY - but a key part of it is set to be missing.
For the first time in almost a decade 16-time champ Joey Chestnut will not be competing - SunSport has the reason why.
1
Why is Joey Chestnut not competing in Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024?
Joey Chesnut is the current hot dog-eating champion after chomping down 62 in 10 minutes at the 2023 edition of the event.
The 40-year-old holds the world record after he gobbled down 76 dogs and buns in 2021.
Chesnut, also known as "Jaws", has won 16 of the last 17 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contests since his first triumph in 2007.
In that time, he has consumed over 1,000 hot dogs at the traditional July 4 event.
READ MORE IN SPORT
But this year, Chestnut will NOT be competing after he signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Food, a company which makes plant-based food alternatives.
The competitive eating legend has been told by organizers he will have to drop the new rival sponsor if he wants to take part in the 2024 edition of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
And Chestnut has been left out of the list of competitors from the US, meaning he will not participate in this year's showpiece.
What's been said?
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest MC George Shea told The U.S. Sun: "We would never ban Joey Chestnut – we are not banning him.
Most read in Sport
"What happened is after 20 years with Nathan's he signed with a rival brand, a plant-based meat brand which is selling hot dogs which runs into a conflict with Nathan's.
"As a result that conflict makes it that he can't [take part on July 4] and that's always been the case."
Major League Eating, which runs the event, told the New York Post that they were "devastated" by Chestnut's decision "to represent a rival brand that sells plant-based hot dogs rather than competing in the 2024 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest."
How to watch the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024?
The info for the July 4 contest is below:
- Start time: 10am ET
- Women's contest: 11am ET
- Men's contest: 12pm ET
- TV/Stream: ESPN