Joey Chestnut ‘Hopeful’ for Resolution with Nathan’s After Hot Dog Eating Contest Ban

After being banned from the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, Joey Chestnut said he’s “hopeful” a resolution can be found regarding the situation.

“I’m very hopeful that things can be worked out,” Chestnut told On3’s Talia Goodman. “I’ll be ready if we can get anything worked out. I’ll be hungry.”

Chestnut, a 16-time winner of the contest, was banned from the Fourth of July competition because he signed a deal to represent Impossible Foods, a plant-based food brand and rival of Nathan’s.

If Chestnut backs out of his deal with Impossible Foods, Nathan’s reportedly will allow him to participate, but it doesn’t seem like that will happen—at least this year.

In the meantime, Chestnut will still be eating hot dogs competitively this year, and against one of his biggest rivals. In September, Chestnut will face fellow competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest airing exclusively on Netflix. Rather than a field of competitors like the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, the matchup between Chestnut and Kobayashi will be one-on-one.

Without Chestnut in the contest, Nathan’s loses arguably the biggest name in competitive eating and could be looking for a new face of the brand. Meanwhile, Chestnut will look to continue his dominance in competitive eating, though he’ll have to do it without participating in the biggest event of the year.