Joey Chestnut, Major League Eating In Talks Over July 4th Hot Dog Contest Return

Joey Chestnut could very well make his return to Coney Island on the Fourth of July -- the world's greatest eater is currently in talks with organizers to compete in the Nathan's Hot Dog contest this year.

TMZ Sports is told Jaws and Major League Eating are actively negotiating to get the 16-time champion back doing what he does best on Independence Day ... and from the sounds of it, both sides want to get it done.

We're told the initial rift that caused Chestnut's absence from the 2024 contest -- his sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods -- is not a factor in discussions.

As we previously reported, Jaws and MLE had beef over his Impossible contract ... with the org. saying Chestnut chose his fate when he agreed to represent "a rival brand."

Jaws, on the other hand, said the org. was moving the goalposts on him ... as he did not have a contract with Nathan's or MLE.

Fans were still able to watch Jaws do his thing a few weeks later -- he had a one-on-one Netflix showdown with longtime rival Takeru Kobayashi ... which ended in a world-record 83 dogs downed and an easy win over his opponent, who had 66 tube stakes in his tummy.

As for the Fourth of July contest, we previously spoke with 2024 winner Patrick Bertoletti ... who admitted his victory had an asterisk due to Jaws' absence.