He has won the competition a total of 14 times. Undefeated since 2016. But this year appears to be the end of Michael Jordan's sausage.

Joey Chestnut, 40, will likely not be seen during this year's hot dog eating contest in New York.

a reason? Sponsorship struggle, according to US media reports.

Chestnut, who set the world hot dog eating record in 2021, has signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods. Hot dog restaurant Nathan's, which is behind the contest every year, wasn't impressed.

“We were shocked to learn that Joy Chestnut chose to represent a competing brand that sells plant-based sausages rather than compete in our competition,” Major League Eating (MLE), which is organizing the competition on behalf of Nathan's, said in a statement. Statement for espn.

– It would be as if Michael Jordan went to Nike and said: I will represent Adidas too, says organizer George Shea to the channel.

Chestnut's world record is 76 sausages on a bun in 10 minutes, and he is, for obvious reasons, the big star of the competition. Therefore, the organizer must have made great efforts to meet the requirements of the 40-year-old, they wrote in a press release.

For nearly two decades, we have operated under the same basic exclusivity provisions. “It appears that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with another sausage brand over our long-term relationship,” the statement added.

Chestnut strongly disputes this representation in a post on X.

– To be completely clear, I don't have a contract with MLE or Nathans, and they want to change the rules from previous years regarding what other partners I can work with. Apparently this is the reason why I was blocked, he writes.

Chestnut wrote that he learned of the ban in the media.

-I love competing in that competition, I love celebrating America with my fans all over this great country on the 4th of July, and I've been training to defend my title.