Joey Chestnut barred from Nathan’s hot dog contest after Impossible Foods deal

However Nathan’s calls for loyalty from its opponents — a minimum of in relation to sizzling canine manufacturers, mentioned George Shea, chair and co-founder of Main League Consuming, the governing physique for quite a few aggressive consuming contests, together with Nathan’s. A key settlement for all opponents on the Nathan’s contest — the place individuals ompete for the “Mustard Belt” and prize cash in entrance of ESPN’s cameras — is to “not signify a rival sizzling canine model,” Shea instructed The Washington Put up.

The newest contract between Chestnut and Nathan’s had expired, Shea mentioned, and the 2 sides had been negotiating a brand new one when Chestnut introduced he had signed a cope with a “plant-based agency.” Nathan’s didn’t know then that it was with Unattainable.

Shea mentioned Nathan’s had requested Chestnut for a possible carve-out: May he signify all different merchandise within the firm’s line, aside from its plant-based sizzling canine?

“They usually mentioned no, and that was the place we obtained to an deadlock,” Shea mentioned. “We simply obtained shocked by this.”

It wouldn’t be the one shock for Shea and Nathan’s. Chestnut additionally has a mano-a-mano consuming contest with Takeru “Kobi” Kobayashi scheduled for Labor Day on Netflix, the streaming service introduced Wednesday.

Unattainable Meals wouldn’t touch upon its cope with Chestnut. However in signing with Unattainable, Chestnut apparently walked away from a profitable cope with Nathan’s, which was ready to supply the 16-time winner an annual $300,000 look payment over 4 years, mentioned one supply who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate the negotiations.

“I used to be very disenchanted to be taught from the media right now that after practically 20 years I’m banned from the Nathan’s 4th of July Scorching Canine Consuming Contest,” Chestnut mentioned in an Instagram submit. “I like competing in that occasion, I like celebrating America with my followers throughout this nice nation on the 4th and I’ve been coaching to defend my title.”

Chestnut couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

Chestnut’s absence will imply {that a} new champion can be topped on July 4, when 35,000 individuals are anticipated to collect on the nook of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island to observe probably the most superior eaters on this planet attempt to pound down greater than 60 canine in 10 minutes. Chestnut has not misplaced since 2015 when Matthew Stonie took residence the trophy. Chestnut nonetheless holds the Nathan’s report: In 2021, he wolfed down 76 sizzling canine and buns in 10 minutes.

As a part of its new model marketing campaign to draw extra meat eaters into its fold, Unattainable Meals might have landed the world’s most well-known carnivore.

“Hear up, America, meat has issues,” says one meathead in Unattainable’s lead marketing campaign industrial. “And it’s going to take us meat-eaters to unravel them.” The answer, the advert suggests with tongue firmly planted in opposition to cheek, is to eat extra meat — plant-based meat. One examine means that plant-based meats have, on common, 50 p.c decrease environmental impacts than proteins raised with conventional animal agriculture.

At age 40, Chestnut stands out as the supreme particular person to guide carnivores to a plant-based weight loss program, a minimum of a number of the time. He’s ranked No. 1 on this planet amongst aggressive eaters. He holds 55 world data. Chestnut, alongside together with his former rival Kobayashi, who had retired, has remodeled a contest broadly seen as a type of gluttony right into a sport demanding self-discipline and coaching. (Chestnut has additionally most likely shaved many months off his life.)

However that mission — whether it is certainly his mission — has price Chestnut the possibility to compete on this planet’s most well-known consuming contest — a minimum of for now. Main League Consuming had agreed to let Chestnut compete in a rival hot-dog consuming contest on Labor Day — one with “unbranded” canine, Shea mentioned. It was an indication the governing physique wasn’t attempting to limit Chestnut’s alternatives, he added.

That Sept. 2 contest, it seems, is a live-steaming occasion on Netflix that includes simply Chestnut and Kobayashi. Dubbed “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef,” Netflix is pitching the competition as a “showdown [that] will settle a 15-year rivalry between the 2 aggressive eaters.”

And regardless of the brand new cope with Unattainable Meals, Chestnut isn’t formally banned from ever showing on the Nathan’s contest once more, Shea mentioned.

“It may be a semantic subject, however to me, banning means, he’s out. We’re carried out. We’re carried out with Joey. That’s not the case. We love Joey. If he might resolve this subject of representing a rival model, we’d like to have him on the Fourth. We’d like to have him subsequent yr,” Shea mentioned.

This wouldn’t be the primary time that Main League Consuming has had a contract dispute with certainly one of its prized opponents. Kobayashi stopped showing on the annual Nathan’s contest after he refused to signal a contract with MLE. Kobayashi felt the phrases of the contract had been too restrictive, stopping him from competing in contests not below the MLE banner.

With Chestnut out, the main candidate to win at Nathan’s this yr is Geoffrey Esper, presently ranked No. 2 on this planet amongst aggressive eaters. Esper completed second final yr, devouring 49 canine in 10 minutes, 13 lower than Chestnut.