As prophesied, Boltman is punting. Dan Jauregui is ending his career as the Chargers No. 1 fan by putting his mascot costume (and all rights) on eBay.
The auction began at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. As of early Friday, nobody had responded to a requested opening bid of $5,000.
The auction ends July 22.
After two decades on the field or in the stands, Ramona’s Jauregui is retiring his alter ego and pledges to auction off the character with half the proceeds going to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, “which has a special place in [my] heart after [my] daughter had surgery there a number of years ago,” he said in a statement.
He hopes the buyer is the Los Angeles Chargers owner.
“Dean Spanos and the Chargers have a unique opportunity to extend an olive branch to San Diego fans by bringing Boltman back to the field where he belongs,” Jauregui said.
“Boltman belongs alongside the historic Chargers’ [Cannon] and the Charger Girls as the team gets back to its quest for a Super Bowl title.”
Jaregui says the winning bidder will have full intellectual property rights to the Boltman character, including the trademarked name and the character copyrights for exclusive merchandising or advertising rights.
“There will be no restrictions on the purchase of Boltman for the winning bidder,” he said.
Included in the auction is the full-body muscle suit and perpetually smiling Boltman fabricated head, which weighs about 2 pounds.
In a recent Facebook poll, 56 percent favored auctioning the costume.
“It has been a great ride and experience for me as I played the role of the mascot character Boltman for over 22 years,” Jauregui said. “But the time has now come for me to pass the baton to a true Chargers fan in Los Angeles or San Diego or perhaps even to the Los Angeles Chargers.”
However, Jauregui isn’t shedding his affection for the former San Diego team.
“As the nonfiction person that has played the role of the fictional character Boltman for over two decades, my allegiance, passion and support as a Chargers fan will always remain the same,” he said late Thursday.
He said he would miss the game-day experience from tailgating with Chargers fans to cheering on the Bolts at home games.
“Now it’ll be supporting our Chargers at home with family and friends,” he said. “Go Chargers!”