ESPN Magazine: Joey Chestnut 2012 earnings down $40K+ from 2011

June 5, 2013 at 5:39 pm by ojrifkin · More posts about:Business, Joey Chestnut, Prizes

The Money Issue of ESPN Magazine reports that Joey Chestnut earned $161,400 in 2012. His earnings from previous editions of that issue:

2012 $161,400
2011 $205,000
2010 $218,500

Comments (28)

28 Comments »

  1. anonymous said

    June 5, 2013 @ 5:56 pm

    Good. He shouldnt make anything but prize money and he shouldn’t even get that

  2. Anonymous said

    June 5, 2013 @ 11:23 pm

    @556 That’s a ridiculous response. First off, if you’re not an eater, how do Joey’s earnings affect you? Do you expect him (or any eater) to train, travel, take time off work, and put on a show for free?

    If you are an eater, you should be thankful that someone’s setting the precedence for competitors to get paid. They deserve compensation for their time, effort, and the toll on their bodies, just like any other athlete– and it’s still far less than anyone in a mainstream sport.

    And where would you prefer the revenues (from advertising, sponsors, etc.) end up? In the Sheas’ personal pockets? With MLE? Especially with an exclusive contract in play, it’s only fair that signed, top eaters be compensated for their loyalty, commitment, media participation, and accomplishments at the table.

  3. Anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 8:27 am

    Very well stated 11:23 pm, while all that you say is true, one thing which is disconcerting is the disparity in earnings between the very top eaters and those who are still in the top 20ish and below. Almost everyone pays their own way to events and while it would be very difficult to be really “fair”, there does seem to be something which could be done far better to get more for the eaters. But I do not see that ever happening because each and every case is different. Eaters contribute in different ways with loyalty so perhaps their “pay” is doing a spot on tv or some event. A lot of opportunities eaters get also depends upon where they live and if they are even available. Yes, everyone has to have a day job. All the whining on here is just plain stupid. People who really have a problem with their organization should take it up with them. If you sign a contract, you should be loyal and you should get some rewards. If you do not like it, do not sign. Very few eaters are of the talents of a Joey and very top. They should get paid well if they do well for the sponsors and the Sheas and the organization. And their celebrity does give all eaters something. It may not be money, but it gives them credibility.

  4. CE volunteer said

    June 6, 2013 @ 9:58 am

    There is a huge disparity (compensation vs none) between top eaters and the rest, but there’s also a huge difference in numbers at the tables. I agree, it seems a little generous (and unrealstic) to pay every participant at every event.

    I think what 1123 is saying, is that there are certain eaters (usually the same ones that put up high numbers) who are used in media to draw crowds, and it seems appropriate to compensate them. Obviously Joey, who’s mentioned in the article, falls into this category. He does a huge amount of press to generate interest in events, and increased interest tends to mean increased revenues. It’s a huge misconception that tv and radio are compensation, or that “publicity” is a reward in itself. Publicity doesn’t pay the bills, and under an exclusive contract, eaters cannot easily convert publicity into their own, paid opportunities.

    In Hollywood, top actors are paid more than B- and D-list celebrities, and maybe MLE could explore payment tiers. Rather, some eaters should start recognizing their value (as big or smal asl it may be) and demanding some sort of payment in exchange for helping put on events. A fledgling payroll might include: eaters that sponsors request by name, those requested for media/advertising, those paraded for breaking world records, those who add iconic/”mascot” value (ie Badlands Booker for his extra performances), etc. A small salary could even be the reward reserved for top 5, or wherever one would draw that line.

    Point is, if your face (your interviews, your participation, etc) is used to make money, you should get some of that cash. Give Joey a break.

  5. anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 10:08 am

    1123 what world do you live in? The majority of the eaters are putting on a show for free with the exception of a handful who finish in the top 3 . We should be thankful that someone is setting the precedence for competitors to get paid ? What competitors? You mean “competitor” minus the S. They deserve compensation for their time, effort, and the toll on their bodies, just like any other athlete? Seems to me only one or two eaters out of 50 is getting that compensation for time effort and toll on their bodies

  6. anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 11:19 am

    Seiken should get reimbursed for his 3 Elvis performances on stage 2 in biloxi MS and the other in Lula and its not the Sheas and MLE that should reimburse him . Isle of Capri owes him. Wait a minute MLE dropped them didnt they?

  7. Anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 11:27 am

    1008: 1123 didn’t say anything that conflicts with your point. One can set the precedent for many, even if it hasn’t happened… Its the modal form.. or present possibility….? Whatever. It’s some grammar thingy, the specifics of which are beyond the scope of an eatfeats thread.

  8. Grow up said

    June 6, 2013 @ 11:51 am

    10:08 — If it’s such a “toll on your body” then don’t go to any contests you dumbass. You’re probably such a shitty eater no one would miss you anyway. Because if you were any good, or had any special talent that could draw attention, you would get paid. What do you think MLE is, a Wellfare subsidy for talentless people. Who exactly should be paying you compensation for your “valuable” time, effort and toll on your body? The sponsor? MLE? I’ll tell you what, go out on your own to any company and tell them you’ll eat for them if they paid you. Their answer would be get lost. They could care less if someone like you showed up to a contest or didn’t show up to a contest. You proved that yourself by saying no one pays you. You get paid for providing a service, and you have no service to provide. No one, not the public, the media, comes to see you. So please, next time there’s a contest, stay home, scores of people could replace you.

  9. anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 12:11 pm

    1127 the specifics that defy logic are based upon quantum theories which negate youre very thoughts on the matter.with that said we will be waiting more than a lifetime for that precedent to take effect and spread the wealth amongst other eaters instead of just one . Kapeesh?

  10. Indy Eater said

    June 6, 2013 @ 4:03 pm

    Cool So Joey makes $150-200k a year while oh say the 15th ranked eater is lucky to break even… Seems about right. Way to spread the wealth MLE! It’s no wonder Pat B left, I’ve heard stories about how even he didn’t get such royal treatment. Koby prolly experianced the same treatment once he was no longer the “top dog”…

    I wonder how much the Shea’s and their employees get a year?????

  11. Indy Eater said

    June 6, 2013 @ 4:10 pm

    Grow up,

    you’re a jerk! Just because some eaters weren’t given a freakish talent like Joey doesn’t mean they don’t work there asses off trying to better their ability. If everybody who wasn’t as talented as the top 5 (“Shitty eaters” as you so nicely put it) took your advise, then MLE would only have about 6 eaters to their credit…

    Inagine if the NFL had the same pay scale and took your advise to not show up. It would be a 3 on 3 game. A QB, WR and RB vs a LB and 2 DB’s. EXCITTING!

  12. Anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 4:44 pm

    Eaters around #15 and beyond might not want to hold their breath to get paid. Skills just aren’t impressive enough at that level.

  13. Grow up said

    June 6, 2013 @ 5:00 pm

    Indie Eater — You’re an idiot. If you are a talented eater, you go to MLE to make money. If you are not talented, you stay independent and don’t make money. Miki Sudo once an indie, talented eater, now MLE. Matt Stonie, once an indie talented eater, now MLE. Where’s all your indie complaints about Jamie McDonald? The only talented indie making any money? So one eater makes money as an indie or APE. At least MLE has five to ten eaters that making any money that can at least cover their costs and for the top five make something extra. And, in the MLE, those eaters don’t have to pay for trips to exotic places like Singapore, Puerto Rico, etc. Indie’s and not so talented MLE eaters lack of knowlege of how the real world works boggles the mind. Yeah right, if every below-top-20 eater left MLE 100 more eaters would line with the dream of eating, and maybe beating, the likes of Joey Chestnut and Sonya Thomas. Go join APE you dumbass and watch McDonald make money.

  14. anonymous said

    June 6, 2013 @ 5:08 pm

    Joey Chestnut said a few yrs ago his reason for being a competitive eater is to drain as much money as he can from the Sheas. That statement was made when he threatened to pull out of Nathans unless several family members were flown to Coney. Nothing more than a selfish spoiled ingrate

  15. Anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 8:58 am

    Amazing how jealous pathetic postal workers are who don’t win anything ever

  16. Dr Zhivago said

    June 7, 2013 @ 9:24 am

    Get yourself checked out by a real doctor and not a discovery channel doctor and find out the prognosis of your mortality rate after consuming hundreds of thousands of fat calories and sodium over the last 7yrs. The only thing in his favor is that he 30yrs old but that wont save him if he keeps this up

  17. anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 9:29 am

    Anonymous said
    June 7, 2013 @ 8:58 am

    Amazing how jealous pathetic postal workers are who don’t win anything ever

    Amazing how some people making loads of cash never put that to good use like maybe a few courses in English Lit and grammar . Duh!

  18. Anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 9:31 am

    Which postal worker because one of them just won a vehicle, a vacation and a big tv. The other…….well you figure it out.

  19. anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 9:38 am

    Yeah you won a vehicle vacation and a tv from a shady event run by two scammers on a radio show. You would never have won those prizes if you competed in a real organization with real eaters that kicked your ass day in and day out. CHEATER !

  20. Anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 9:46 am

    More botched up speculative dirty laundry aired here by the one who thinks he has the inside track. Of course if you believe these comments, then you are fooling only yourself. Rake and Herald wrote perfectly about what is heresay and what is not. Thanks R and H and the real journalists and writers who contribute so much to competitive eating.

  21. anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 10:34 am

    Joey if you are referring to Seiken being the jealous postal worker think again. Seiken had nothing but admiration and respect for you until you decided to shit on him by not giving him the time of day. Remember back in 2005 or 6 during the Carmines meatball contest ? Seiken wanted to interview you and you said “not now maybe after the contest” That was a virtual spit in the face to Seiken who at that time was very well respected . Mind you that was way before this eatfeats hatred was even born. Obviously some troublemaker got to you first and told you not to do interviews with Seiken or maybe you wanted $$ in return. All i know is that you are not the Joey Chestnut that everyone loved in 2005. You used to call Seiken and other eaters on the phone asking for tips on how to become a better eater. None of those tips seemed to please you until Ray the Bison Meduna told you about his doctor prescribed throat relaxer. Do you remember that Hmm Hmmm HMmmm?????? Seiken still loves you Joey and you should love him back even if people accuse him of wearing smelly do rags and going oink oink oink

  22. Indy Eater said

    June 7, 2013 @ 11:33 am

    Grow up,

    you missed my point completly! What I was saying is MLE should spread the wealth much more to those who don’t exactly have the talents of a Sudo or Stonie, but are still asked to do media stuff, sign a 3 year exclusive contract. If they are good enough to be signed, they should be good enough to be compensated. If everybody followed your advise, MLE would/should only have about 5 or 6 eaters.

    btw, I’m a former MLE mid ranked 15-25 ranked eater and have made MUUUUUCHHH more money in cash and prizes then I ever did in my years with MLE.

    Bottom line, if you’re not Elite, MLE isn’t worth it from a financial standpoint.

  23. Anonymous said

    June 7, 2013 @ 12:19 pm

    Well one postal worker is good at his craft and wins legit prizes, the other belittles people who gain success at the table and life. Not hard to figure out who is doing the majority of the bitching on this thread.

  24. Grow up said

    June 7, 2013 @ 12:29 pm

    Indy — Good points. Thanks for bringing the disucussion back down to a civil level. Here’s what I think should happen. If you’re top ten MLE branded big draw eater, rules regarding outside events should be pretty strict. No MLE approval, no event, etc. Yet, if you are ranked 20 plus, ease off regarding outside events. As long as the food isn’t in competition with a current or potential sponsor, let the 20 plus ranked eater have fun. That way table enders get compensated. The problem is, most offers for events go to top eaters. And, if the top eater gets denied an event offered to them, that eater’s response is, “well I saw so and so eating cup cakes on the local farm report, why can’t I do this event?” That’s why MLE tends to be evenly strict regarding the rules. Is MLE worth it for lower eaters? It depends. If you’re looking for more high profile, professionally run events the answer is yes. If you’re looking to make money, indie might be the way to go.

  25. Grow up said

    June 7, 2013 @ 12:53 pm

    Indy — As a P.S., I might point out, complaining top eaters make all the money is pointless. That’s the way the world is. If you’re the best garbage man in the world, I can bet you are making more money than a bad garbage man. And, I don’t mean to sound boo hoo, but being a top 10 eater requires a lot of work. Years of many contests, grueling travel, stressing your body to the max. And, all those “glamorous” interviews that top eaters do? Believe me, the first several times doing “Good Morning America” at five a.m. is fun. The twentieth time is like having to get up early for a boring meeting with the same old, “how do you eat so much?” questions. So, top eaters at some point are doing interviews not for themselves, but for the sponsor and to attract media, which is good for lower ranked eaters. I know your response is “put me in coach,” the lower ranked eaters would be happy to do top interviews. Problem is, top interviewers only want top eaters.

  26. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    June 7, 2013 @ 1:27 pm

    I too think there’s too much disparity in MLE money earned between the top eater and Joey’s top 10 counterparts. Distributing prize money more equitably (less top-heavy) among the top 10 finishers would not only be more fair to participants, it would also entice more people to want to come out and compete for prize money.

    CE is a business, and sure, you have to use your superstar, the #1-ranked eater, as the primary focal point for marketing. The public cares little about anyone except the top dog—-Joey Chestnut. And it’s the ESPN-televised Nathan’s Finals that drives that point home.

    However, I think MLE can successfully sell its brand / product, even with a less negatively skewed distribution of prize money among its top 10-finishers in each contest (i.e. without half the purse going to the top finisher and without the top three finishers getting 80-100% of the prize money).

  27. Grow up said

    June 7, 2013 @ 1:52 pm

    Rhonda — Okay, I’d by that, kind of a minimum wage for the table enders. If you compete, you get a consolation prize. However, and I think we’re all missing the big picture. The current top eaters, some of whom have been around for a decade or more, have helped create an environment where a lot more money is going around at all levels than there was. We do have things to be thankful. Remember the day when Nathan’s was just for the prestige of winning? Now we have two contests, each with pots of $20 grand. If it weren’t for the mind blowing talent displayed by Joey Chestnut, Tim Janus, Sonya Thomas, Bob Shoudt, and yes of course Takeru Kobayashi and Pat Bertoletti, competitive eating may have never gained so much public interest resulting in more contests with more money for everyone. And, all of this was masterfully managed by the Shea brothers at MLE, so they deserve credit too. Just look at how many copycat eaters and leagues have arisen.

  28. Rhonda Evans said (Registered March 6, 2008)

    June 7, 2013 @ 2:40 pm

    I’m not saying have all payouts essentially equal—-not at all. Of course, higher placing finishers deserve more of the total purse. But, just graduate it in such a way that:

    1) half the purse doesn’t go to the top eater (e.g. limit it to about 30-35%), and
    2) pay down to the top 10 (or at least the top seven or 8).

    Make it worthwhile, so that an eater who has a spot at the table can get back a small portion of the cost to participate.

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