You might not be sold on the idea that competitive eating is a sport, but what if I told you that you could make $218,500? That's the amount of money that Joey Chestnut -- the improbably named eating champion -- reportedly earned in 2010.
ESPN has compiled a list of the top paid athletes in 30 "sports," including competitive eating, which can net you more cash than that of a sled-dog driver ($50,400), billiards competitor ($118,494) or squash player ($166,926).
Competitive eating also doesn't have to deter you from chasing another leisure sport championship. The highest paid darts player, Phil Taylor, pulled in a cool $1,044,000 in 2010, and Jonathan Duhamel pulled in $9,443,519 in poker earnings.
But while the chance of a surprisingly lucrative income awaits, you'll have to do some serious calculations before you throw your mouth in the ring. Just think about how many hot dogs and buns you'd have to buy in order to train yourself to eat 55 hot dogs -- one more than Chestnut's total at the 2010 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Your number might not be $218,000; it could be more or less. How much would somebody have to pay you to compete on the competitive-eating circuit?
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