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Former Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards said that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers “was definitely the most prepared” guest host as the show was looking for a successor to the legendary Alex Trebek.
“Aaron Rodgers was definitely the most prepared,” Richards told Gillian Telling of People.
“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!'”
Rodgers was among one of 14 guest hosts who guided the show in 2021, with his shift occurring from April 5-16. Other hosts included CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos and ex-Jeopardy! superstar Ken Jennings, who leads the show in the present date.
Rodgers is a big fan of the show and won Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015, defeating Kevin O’Leary (known as Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank) and Sen. Mark Kelly.
Rodgers received positive reviews for his work and was certainly considered among the best guest hosts for the gig. The show also got a ratings bump with him aboard.
Alas, Rodgers wasn’t chosen for the job, but he has a good fallback option as an NFL quarterback.