Aaron Rodgers Begins Guest Hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ Starting Monday

Jeopardy! is about to get a brand new guest host in Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The athlete will step in to host the game show for two weeks, beginning April 5, as the series attempts to figure out a permanent hosting plan following the death of Alex Trebek in November. The first person to step behind the podium following Trebek’s final episode in January was Greatest of All Time champion Ken Jennings, followed by Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards and legendary journalist Katie Couric.

Rodgers will take over for Dr. Mehmet Oz of The Dr. Oz Show, who is currently guest hosting the show. Following the Packers player’s stint on the show, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, actress Mayim Bialik and TODAY host Savannah Guthrie will take over for future shows. Rodgers previously appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015, where he raised $50,000 for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer Fund.

“The show has been so special to me over the years,” Rodgers told Packers.com of being chosen to guest host. “It’s been a staple at my house here in Green Bay for the last 16 years – 6 o’clock watching Alex and trying to get as many questions as I can. When the opportunity came up in 2015, I mean that was a dream come true, it really was, to be on there, to get to meet Alex was just such a special moment, and we’re all obviously sad about his passing.” He continued that there was a “nostalgic connection” with Trebek because of his childhood memories that made the late host “feel like family.”

It’s been a big year for Rodgers, who also revealed in February that he had gotten engaged to Big Little Lies actress Shailene Woodley. “2020 was definitely a crazy year filled with lots of change, growth, some amazing, memorable moments,” Rodgers said during his February NFL Honors show MVP award acceptance speech. “One hundred-eighty straight days of having my nose hair scraped, a plan for very little fans or no stands the entire season, I got engaged, and I played some of the best football of my career.”

Later that month, Woodley confirmed their relationship on The Tonight Show, Starring Jimmy Fallon. “Yes, we are engaged, but for us, it’s not new news, so it’s kind of funny. Everybody right now is freaking out over it and we’re like, ‘Yeah, we’ve been engaged for a while,” she said at the time. “He’s first off, just a wonderful, incredible human being, but I never thought I’d be engaged to somebody who threw balls for a living.”