Ragnar the Viking has become a staple at Vikings home games, riding his motorcycle onto the field to lead the team out of the tunnel for the last 21 years.
But Ragnar's time has apparently ended after the team announced it has cut ties with Joe Juranitch, the man who portrays Ragnar, because of a contract dispute.
According to The Associated Press, Juranitch was asking for $20,000 per game over the next 10 years — or a total of $1.6 million for regular-season home games, and $2 million if exhibitions (two per year) were included. He made $1,500 per game last season, the report said.
Sunday's game against the Lions was the first without Ragnar since he was hired by the team as an independent contractor in 1994. Juranitch posted to his Facebook page during the game with a photo of him watching from home, clad in full costume.
It doesn't feel right sitting at home. This is not by my choice...I don't make those decisions..At this point it was...
Posted by RAGNAR on Sunday, 20 September 2015
"This offseason, Joe Juranitch’s (Ragnar) contract with the Vikings expired. Since then the team has had multiple conversations with Joe but has not been able to reach an agreement on his role with the team moving forward," the Vikings said in a statement.
"The Vikings greatly appreciate what Ragnar has meant to the organization and to the fans over the last two decades. We intend to honor his 21 seasons on the field during a 2015 Vikings home game and we will welcome him to future ceremonial events. We will always consider Ragnar an important part of Vikings history."
The Vikings still have Viktor, the team's official mascot since 2007.