For many, the Fourth of July is a day full of traditions. After a one-year hiatus, one of the most famous Fourth of July traditions in sports returns in its most famous form in 2025. Joey Chestnut will compete in the 2025 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest after being barred from the 2024 competition.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” the hot dog-eating icon wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life.”
Chestnut, who won 16 of 17 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contests from 2007-23, was banned from competing in the 2024 event due to accepting a sponsorship deal with Nathan’s competitor Impossible Foods. As it wasn’t guaranteed that Chestnut would ever be able to compete in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest again, the 16-time hot dog eating champ shared he was able to work something out with Nathan’s to allow him to participate in the 2025 event.
“While I have and continue to partner with a variety of companies, including some in the plant-based space, those relationships were never a conflict with my love for hot dogs,” Chestnut wrote. “To be clear: Nathan’s is the only hot dog company I’ve ever worked with.
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“I respect that there were differences in interpretation, but I’m grateful we’ve been able to find common ground.”
Even though Chestnut wasn’t in Coney Island for last year’s event, he still downed several hot dogs on the Fourth of July in 2024. He participated in a five-minute hot dog eating contest against four US Army soldiers at Fort Bliss. He out ate the four soldiers, downing 57 hot dogs to their combined 49 hot dogs.
Additionally, the 57 hot dogs Chestnut ate at that event were just one shy of the number of hot dogs Patrick Bertoletti ate to win the 2024 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest (58). However, Bertoletti needed 10 minutes to eat that many hot dogs.
Chestnut also competed against longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi in a live-stream hot dog eating event for Netflix on Labor Day in 2024. Chestnut, who overtook Kobayashi as the all-time winningest eater at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2013, took down his rival in that event, 83-66.
Now, Chestnut will be back in Coney Island this summer. The last time he was there, he ate 62 hot dogs to win the 2023 competition. Two years prior, he broke his own 10-minute record, downing 76 hot dogs to win in 2021.
Betting odds for the 2025 contest haven’t been listed yet at legal sportsbooks in the United States. However, Chestnut will almost certainly be a heavy favorite to win this year’s competition. He was listed as a -5000 favorite to win the event right before he won it in 2023.
“I’m excited to be back on the Coney Island stage,” Chestnut wrote, “doing what I live to do, and celebrating the Fourth of July with hot dogs in my hands!
“Stay hungry!”
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