While the game show was searching for a replacement for the late great Alex Trebek, former executive producer of Jeopardy! Mike Richards stated that quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets “was definitely the most prepared” guest host. He told People magazine,
“Aaron Rodgers was definitely the most prepared,”
“I was blown away by that, the intensity in which he prepped, and he was so lovely to everyone on staff. But ultimately I worried about his other job that he does on a pretty high level. I was like, ‘How are you going to work this out with football scheduling?’ He said, ‘You’ll figure it out!'”
Among the 14 guest hosts that oversaw the program in 2021 was Rodgers, who served from April 5–16. In addition to Anderson Cooper of CNN, co-anchors of Good Morning America Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, and former Jeopardy! star Ken Jennings, who currently hosts the show, were among the other hosts.
Sen. Mark Kelly and Kevin O’Leary, popularly known as Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank, were defeated by Rodgers, a huge fan of the show, when she won Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015.
Rodgers was regarded as one of the top guest hosts for the event and earned praise for his performance. With him on board, the show’s ratings increased as well.
Unfortunately, Rodgers was not selected for the position, but as an NFL quarterback, he has a reliable backup plan.
