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Joey Chestnut Won Another Hot Dog Eating Contest—But This Time With an Unwanted Wrinkle

Kristen Wong|
Joey Chestnut won his 18th Mustard Belt title at the 2026 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, but his choice of bling put off some viewers.
Joey Chestnut won his 18th Mustard Belt title at the 2026 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, but his choice of bling put off some viewers. | Screengrab on Twitter/@ESPN

It’s not the Fourth of July in New York City without Joey Chesnut stuffing hot dogs down his throat at Coney Island.

The American hero—compared on-air to the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and even Secretariat—won his 18th career Mustard Belt title in the 2026 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday, scarfing down a total of 66 to cruise to a nauseating victory.

It was another predictable win in the books for the glizzy GOAT, one that would have been commonplace given Chestnut’s competitive eating dominance (18 titles in his last 19 Nathan’s contests) except for one not-so-small detail.

During Chestnut’s intro walkout, his fans noticed a large and shiny piece of bling hanging from his neck: A Polymarket necklace, the ESPN broadcast’s announcers confirmed.

Though Chestnut took the necklace off during the hot dog-eating craze, he put it back on after the contest when he was crowned champion for the second straight year on America’s 250th birthday. Chestnut, who averaged nearly one hot dog every 9 seconds, easily crushed Patrick Bertoletti (51 dogs) and James Webb (47.5 dogs), who finished second and third respectively.

Yet, one couldn’t help but wonder whether his ungodly eating feat was overshadowed by the fact that he was shamelessly promoting a cryptocurrency-based prediction market for the first time in the annual competition.

Here’s how viewers reacted to seeing his iced-out chain:

Joey Chestnut’s past controversies surrounding the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Despite being an all-American eating legend, Chesnut has endured his fair share of controversy over the years. Most recently, Chestnut pled guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge over his involvement in a bar scuffle that took place back in March.

“The accuser claimed that Chestnut struck him on the left side of his face with an open right hand after the two exchanged a friendly handshake. The food competitor then allegedly made statements along the lines of ‘Look, your buddy’s mad’ to the accuser’s friend. The victim said Chestnut ‘changed his tone’ and stated, ‘Everything is O.K.’ and that ‘nothing happened’ after the incident,” according to details published by Us Weekly.

Chestnut was sentenced to 180 days of probation as a result. His probation service will end in October but didn’t interfere with his ability to participate in this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Previously in 2024, Chestnut was stunningly banned from Nathan’s annual contest due to his partnership with Impossible Foods, which sells plant-based hot dogs and was therefore a competitor of Nathan’s, which sells traditional beef dogs.

When news broke that Chestnut would not be taking a seat at the table at Coney Island in July 2024, Netflix announced plans to stream a live hot dog eating contest between Joey Chestnut and competitive eating rival Takeru Kobayashi on Labor Day.

Chestnut spoke to Sports Illustrated in an exclusive interview following the ugly fallout:

“Everything with Impossible was perfectly fine by all my previous agreements,” said Chestnut. “They changed terms and conditions [around] exclusivity. And it’s not the first time they’ve changed some things, but it’s the first time they’ve really changed things after the fact, and I had to say, “Hey, it’s too late, I’ve already started working with this brand.”

Chesnut went on to describe how much Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest meant to him and that he wasn’t holding any grudges toward Major League Eating, the organization that banned from the competition.

“It’s more than a contest. A lot of the mail or letters I get from people, it’s not saying, ‘Oh my God, you eat so many hot dogs, it’s amazing.’ It’s, ‘You’ve been a part of my Fourth of July for so long.’ That’s the awesome part. ... And I’m hoping I can still find ways to do that.”

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.

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