This hot dog news from Coney Island is hard to swallow.
Joey Chestnut, perennial winner of the annual July 4th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Competition, is out of this year’s beef barf over a deal he made to represent a different wiener brand, The Post has learned.
And not just any brand, but Impossible Foods, which recently launched a vegan frankfurter impostor made from plants.
California-born Chestnut has won the Nathan’s event 16 times, including every year since 2016. He gobbled a world record 76 dogs in 2021 and kept his title with a mere 62 down the hatch last year.
A rep for Major League Eating (MLE), which Nathan’s sanctions to run the event, said the organizers bent over backwards to meet Chestnut’s various other demands. They even agreed to let him participate in a rival Labor Day dog-eating fest to be taped by Netflix as long as no hot dog brand was mentioned.
But they said they drew the line on letting Chestnut pitch for a different dog.
A source said Chestnut was paid $200,000 to appear in the Nathan’s contest last year, and was offered a $1.2 million, four-year contract going forward.
MLE said in a statement: “We are devastated to learn that Joey Chestnut has chosen 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.
“MLE and Nathan’s went to great lengths to accommodate Joey and his management team, agreeing to the appearance fee and allowing Joey to compete in a rival, unbranded hot dog eating contest on Labor Day.
“For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different brand over our long-time relationship.
The organizers did leave the door open for Chestnut to once again compete for Nathan’s championship belt.
“Joey Chestnut is an American hero. We would love nothing more than to have him at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest,” the rep said.
“We hope he returns when he is not representing a rival brand.”
Neither Chestnut nor his agents would immediately comment.
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