Joey Chestnut Makes Big Announcement About Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Stephen Douglas | Jun 16, 2025

Joey Chestnut and the mustard yellow belt. / Sam Greene via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Joey Chestnut is back. The 16-time Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest champion announced on social media Monday that he would be participating in the 2025 edition of the event after missing last year's contest because he had a partnership with a plant-based food company. In a post on Instagram, Chestnut said "those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs."

With the holiday staple going on without him in 2024, Chestnut instead faced off against longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest on Netflix last September where Chestnut set a world record by consuming 83 hot dogs.

As recently as a couple weeks ago Chestnut didn't know if he'd be back, but said today that he's grateful they were able to find a common ground and called the Nathan's contest "a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joey Chestnut (@joeychestnut)

Last year Pat Bertoletti won the Coney Island contest by consuming 58 hot dogs, which was just four behind Chestnut's 2023 total. Chestnut set the event record in 2021 with 76.

---

More on Sports Illustrated

feed