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Here's Your 2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Viewing Guide

With the big event kicking off at 10:45 am ET, here's your preview/viewing guide to today's 2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating.

What would the Fourth of July be without a whole lot of people heading over to Coney Island to watch a whole lot of other people shove as many hot dogs and buns down their throats as possible in ten minutes? That's right, it's time for the 2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, and we have everything you'll need to know to check out the men's and women's rounds. This year's competition sees Miki Sudo returning to defend her title, while 2024 champ Patrick Bertoletti will be facing off with none other than Joey Chestnut, who returns to the event after a ban over a sponsorship with Impossible Foods banned him from competing last year.

What follows is a rundown of the times for each competition, as well as which networks will be covering the event (including special cams for Sudo and Chestnut). In addition, we look at what they're competing for, the rules of the event, and more. Plus, we look back at the 2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, and we've included some previews and perspectives along the way to keep things interesting (like the 2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Weigh-In Ceremony, waiting for you above).

When/Where Can I Watch the "2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest"? Taking place on July 4th outside the original Nathan's location in Coney Island near Brooklyn, New York, the annual summer event has aired on ESPN platforms since 2004. In 2022, ESPN signed a new deal with the International Federation of Competitive Eating to continue the broadcast partnership through 2029. Here's a rundown of the schedule, the start times, and where they will air:

10:45 a.m. ET – Women's Contest – ESPN3

11 a.m. ET – Miki Sudo Cam – ESPN3

12 p.m. ET – Men's Contest – ESPN2

12:30 p.m. ET – Joey Chestnut Cam – ESPN3

5 p.m. ET – Main event re-airing

9 p.m. ET – Main event re-airing

What's Up for Grabs During the "2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest"? The total purse for the 2025 contest is $40,000, which will be split between the male and female divisions. Men's and women's first-place champions get $10,000 each (and some very cool title belts), with second-place finishers walking away with $5,000 each, and third-place finishers getting $2,500 each.

Who Should We Be Keeping an Eye on During the "2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest"?

On the men's side, Joey Chestnut returns as the top male champion of all time, with 15 Nathan's titles on his resume and the world record for eating 73 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Chestnut will be looking to reclaim his title from Patrick Bertoletti, who won last year's Chestnut-free competition after eating 58 hot dogs and buns.

On the women's side, Miki Sudo is the top female champion of all time, with eight Nathan's titles on her resume. Sudo holds a world record for eating six hot dogs in one minute, and is returning this year to defend her title.

What Are the "2025 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest" Rules? 

Major League Eating (MLE) has managed the event since 1997. To participate, entrants must be under an MLE contract. In addition to past champions and special MLE invitees, aspiring eaters can qualify for the event during other preliminary contests.

During the event, participants must eat as many Nathan's Famous hot dogs in buns as they can within a 10-minute time period. Each contestant gets their own scorekeeper who notes the number of hot dogs eaten during the contest window.

A few other rules are taken into consideration:

• Water and other beverages are permitted and help encourage the quick flow of activity.
• Condiments are allowed, but contestants usually pass on them.
• Partially-eaten hot dogs count and hot dogs still being chewed at the end of regulation can qualify (as long as they're successfully swallowed).
• Penalty cards can be issued for messy eating and regurgitation.
• Sudden death eat-offs will be put into play if there is a tie at the end of regulation.

What Happened During the "2024 Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest"? 

Shaking off the controversy that saw reigning champ Joey Chestnut barred from defending his title by Major League Eating, reportedly over an endorsement deal, the ESPN-televised 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest was unleashed on Coney Island last summer, with one of our champions setting a new record for the July 4th tradition.

Florida's Miki Sudo downed 51 hot dogs in 10 minutes, which would be enough to not only secure her the women's title but also set a world record. The 38-year-old dental hygienist bested not only her event-winning total from last year (39 1/2 hot dogs) but also the previous world record (48 1/2 hot dogs) – the record that Sudo set. To give you a sense of just how big the margin of victory was for Sudo among the other 14 competitors, second place went to Japan's Mayoi Ebihara, with 37 hot dogs.

On the men's side, things were much closer – but it would be Illinois' Patrick Bertoletti who would take the crown. Though no world records were broken, the competition itself proved to be a competitive one. In the end, the 39-year-old would knock down 58 hot dogs, with Massachusetts's Geoffrey Esper taking second with 53 hot dogs and Australian James Webb taking third with 52 hot dogs. Bertoletti's performance saw the professional eater besting his result from the last time he competed in the summer event (33 1/2 hot dogs in 2022) and his personal best of 55 hot dogs.

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