If you don't eat enough, you'll eventually die. That's a known fact. It's also understood that you could end up six feet under by eating too much, but at least you've got a chance to get rich doing it.
The Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest is this weekend on Coney Island, New York.
George Shea, the brains behind Major League Eating, says this past year eaters took home $550,000 in purses.
Most of that prize money went to one man.
BusinessWeek reports Joey Chestnut, the Babe Ruth of pro eating, scored a stunning $100,000 endorsement deal with Procter & Gamble's Pepto-Bismol.
The company says thanks to Chestnut, 27, it had double-digit increases in sales and picked up 40,000 new fans on the Pepto-Bismol Facebook page.
Chestnut, who earned $220,000 from his eating talents in 2010, expects to make even more this calendar year.
Pizza Hut is another company that claims its advertising on Major League Eating has paid off to the tune of $6 million worth of media coverage from a calzone eating contest on Spike TV.
Not everyone is cashing in on the popularity of this "sport".
While Chestnut and a few others are making good money, Timothy Janus, the third ranked Major League Eater in the world, says he's never made more than $35,000 a year from gobbling up loads of food.
