Aaron Rodgers is determined to do Alex Trebek proud. The NFL star donned a nice suit and stood behind the podium to host Monday’s Jeopardy!, but not before honoring the legacy of the late gameshow icon.
The 37-year-old quarterback came out at the top of the show, and made sure to share a sweet memory of Trebek, from when Rodgers won Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015.
“As a lifelong fan of Jeopardy! it is an incredible honor to guest host,” Rodgers said at the start of the episode. “Now, I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of amazing things, but winning Celebrity Jeopardy! and getting to share the stage with the legend Alex Trebek is something I will never forget.”
“Alex was such a gentleman. So smart, so precise, I was in awe,” he added. “And I will work hard to honor his legacy.”
Rodgers is the latest in a series of celebrity guest hosts who have taken helm on the popular game show following Trebek’s death in November, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
While he was a charming professional in his Jeopardy! debut, the Green Bay Packers quarterback couldn’t avoid getting ribbed a little by one contestant, who used his Final Jeopardy answer to make fun of Green Bay’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship back in January.
The controversial loss came after Packers coach Matt LaFleur opted to kick a field goal in an effort to win the game, instead of keeping Rodgers on the field to try and score a touchdown.
So, when it came time to reveal the 2-day reigning champion’s Final Jeopardy answer, Rodgers had to do his best to keep his composure as he read out, “Who wanted to kick that field goal?”
Laughing, Rodgers responded, “That is a great question. It should be correct, but for this game today, that’s incorrect.”
While his run on the show this time around lasts two weeks, Rodgers recently revealed that he would be very open to the possibility of making it his full-time job.
He recently opened up during a chat on The Pat McAfee Show, and he said he would love to do it, even if it meant shaving his face entirely — something the NFL star has long opted not to do.
“If [shaving] is ever a prereq to get the full-time gig, no problem with it at all. No problem at all,” he said. “I would love to be the host of Jeopardy!, yes.”
He also detailed his preparation for the gig, explaining that he “watched hours and hours and hours of episodes.”
“But I had to watch from a different perspective — from Alex’s perspective,” Rodgers explained. “I couldn’t watch it as a fan anymore.”
