The Michael Jordan of hot-dog eating is making his return to the biggest stage after a brief hiatus. Joey Chestnut announced he will return to take part in the 2025 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest after he was banned from the event in 2024.
Chestnut made the announcement on Instagram, saying he was “thrilled” to be back at the event.
Chestnut is the biggest and most dominant name in the hot-dog eating game. He won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest every year from 2016 to 2023.
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He was all set to dominate the event again in 2024, but a partnership with Impossible Foods resulted in Chestnut being banned from the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Nathan’s does not allow competitors to endorse rival brands, which resulted in Chestnut’s ban.
While it appears Chestnut’s partnerships could have threatened his participation in the event in 2025, Chestnut said he was “able to find common ground” with Nathan’s. He explained that while he’s paired with plant-based companies in the past, “those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs.”
With Chestnut out of the picture in 2024, Patrick Bertoletti won the event after eating 58 hot dogs. The last time Chestnut consumed fewer than 58 hot dogs at the Nathan’s event was all the way back in 2010, when he won the event with 54.
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest takes place on July 4 every year. The event started in 1972, per Nathan’s website. Jason Schechter won the first official competition on the men’s side, eating 14 hot dogs. That figure has ballooned in recent years, with Chestnut eating a record 76 hot dogs at the event in 2021.
While Chestnut did not take part in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2024, he remained active in the food game. Chestnut participated in a head-to-head hot-dog eating contest with former Nathan’s champion Takeru Kobayashi in 2024. Chestnut won the contest — which aired on Netflix — after eating 83 hot dogs.
