Nathan's Hot Dog Eating champion Joey Chestnut's belt before the Lugnuts game against the TinCaps on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at Jackson Field in Lansing. Chestnut was participating in an olive burger eating contest before the game. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

How many hot dogs could the Buccaneers eat? Players weigh in on July 4th

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Buccaneers on SI
By Caleb Skinner | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The term GOAT gets thrown around a lot, but there is always at least one or two per sport who can actually lay claim to the acronym "greatest of all time".

In basketball, the debate is between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. In football, it's Tom Brady. Hockey has Wayne Gretzky, soccer has Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and golf has Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

We could go on and on with other GOATs in their respective sports, but perhaps one of the most underappreciated is American competitive eater Joey Chestnut.

Chestnut owns a staggering 55 world eating records and just extended his hold as the top hot dog eater in the world by claiming his 17th Mustard Yellow title belt on the Fourth of July.

Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has become a popular part of people's July 4th celebrations, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' social media admin decided to have a little fun with it by asking the players who they think could put down the most glizzies.

We may need to have a hot dog eating contest in Tampa Bay pic.twitter.com/ci06vvDx20
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) July 4, 2025

There were obviously some standouts who were popular picks amongst the players. Offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke were amongst those, along with defensive tackle Vita Vea.

The big guys will always get love when it comes to eating contests, but some guys were a little modest in how many dogs they could actually take down in 10 minutes. If Chestnut can get 70 in that time span, I don't see a reason any regular person couldn't at least do 15, especially with the rules Nathan's implements.

Maintaining the theme, I believe it would also be a lineman of some sort. But I think I would put my money on Goedeke coming away with the victory if the Bucs were to hold a hot dog-eating contest of their own.