Aaron Rodgers: I can juggle my NFL QB job and hosting Jeopardy! at the same time

The Ringer

Rodgers, who made his Jeopardy! guest-hosting debut on Monday night, reiterated to The Ringer that he was serious when he said he wants to become Alex Trebek's permanent successor. "I don’t think I’d need to give up football to do it," says the Green Bay Packers QB. "They film 46 days a year. I worked 187 this year in Green Bay. That gives me, eh—(pauses)—178 days to do Jeopardy! So I feel like I could fit 46 into that 178 and make it work. It would be a dream job for sure, and I’m not shy at all about saying I want the job. That’s how I went into it. I want an opportunity to be in the mix." Rodgers is 37 and nearing what used to be quarterback's normal retirement age. But Rodgers has said repeatedly that he hopes to play into his 40s like Tom Brady, the reigning Super Bowl champion, who is six years his senior. Rodgers added: "I feel like I bring something different to the stage—I’m the youngest of any of the guest hosts, I’d be the youngest host of just about any major game show, I bring an audience from the NFL, and I feel like I appeal to nerdy people, too, because I was a nerd in high school and got caught in that weird phase of wanting to be a jock and an athlete and also really caring about getting good grades. And at the same time, there’s not many bigger fans of the show than me. I’ve been watching it for years and years and years. I respect the show and appreciate the history of it, and also there’s my background of stepping in for a legend and their footsteps. I feel like all that combined makes me a pretty good candidate." In an interview on Jeopardy!'s YouTube channel, Rodgers said: “When I came on the show, I saw how special this environment was. I remember thinking this would be a dream job if Alex ever retired at 90 to come back and be a part of this because I love trivia so much and I love the environment. It’s not like a super-lax environment. There’s an intensity, a focus that comes with the game. I thought it would be a fun challenge.”

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• Aaron Rodgers has no right to be as good as he is as Jeopardy! host in his first episode: "After a somewhat stilted intro on Monday, Rodgers shook off any rust and put in a confident shift as soon as the game got rolling," says Nick Greene. "Despite his self-effacing warning, there were no signs of him being tripped up by any categories, and he even nailed the clues that required difficult scientific pronunciations like 'streptomycin' and 'pharyngeal.' He also didn’t appear to pick his butt once during the broadcast, so it really was a successful debut."
• Rodgers could see the field goal question from the podium
• Shailene Woodley calls fiancé Rodgers "super sexy" as she plugged his Jeopardy! performance