TV
'Jeopardy!' announces new permanent host:
Aaron Rodgers
Eliza Barrett USA TODAY
Published 1:00 p.m. ET July 21, 2021
After seven months and sixteen guest hosts, the “Think” song has finally concluded. Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Wednesday that the new permanent host of Jeopardy! will be Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The reigning National Football League Most Valuable Player will captain a new huddle beginning this August, replacing the legendary Alex Trebek, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in November 2020 following 37 years as the legendary face of the program. Having previously won Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015, Rodgers served as a guest host for two weeks in April to largely positive reviews. Now, the Super Bowl Champion and three-time NFL MVP will host the upcoming Season 38 (and beyond) of the iconic quiz show.
Rodgers’ preparation on and off the gridiron is well-documented. In July, Rodgers’ fiancée, actress Shailene Woodley, said in an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers that the Packers quarterback “literally just UberEated and watched Jeopardy!'' for twelve to fifteen hours every day to prepare for his hosting run on the show. In addition, Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards, who had been another candidate to replace Trebek, noted that Rodgers picked his brain about the most minute technicalities and rarest scenarios, from technical malfunctions to end-of-game tie scenarios.
After his guest hosting gig, Rodgers stated that he “had a blast” with the contestants and bluntly expressed his interest at assuming the mantle permanently. “I’m not shy at all about saying I want the job,” he told The Ringer’s Claire McNear in April. “That’s how I went into it. I want an opportunity to be in the mix.” Well, not only was he in the mix, but unlike at the 2005 NFL Draft, he was Jeopardy!’s number one pick.
As for his other job, Rodgers also told The Ringer that he would not need to retire from football to host Jeopardy!. But the Packers’ quarterback has reportedly discussed his future with the team, telling “certain members of the organization that he does not want to return” to Green Bay, according to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter. Rodgers has yet to speak publicly on the matter. The correct response to the clue “the next Jeopardy! host” is “Who is Aaron Rodgers?”; however, as the NFL season approaches, the Green Bay Packers appear to be scrambling toward a question they have not discussed in thirteen years: “Who will be the starting quarterback?”
Season 38 of Jeopardy! will premiere on September 13, 2021.
So, as you can see, I've decided to run with a little alternate history here - for whatever reason, Jeopardy picked Rodgers to be the host, and here we are. Is it unrealistic that Jeopardy would take on this kind of press in the middle of a messy split between a high-profile sports franchise and one of the top stars in the history of football? Maybe! But I wanted to play with Jordan Love, and so here we are!
Before I get started, I have some internal rules: based on the situation, I'm holding Rodgers on the 53. I haven't decided what to do with him next offseason yet, so instead of dropping him into free agency I'm gonna just hang out with him on the roster. Hopefully I won't need every single guy on the roster this year.
This being said too, I'm trying to set my franchise in a way where David Bakhtiari doesn't miss the whole season. He has a Complete ACL Tear but he likely isn't going to miss the whole year in real life. In one of the tests I ran he was only out until about Week 9 which would be the sweet spot for me. I'm working on that though. In the event I don't luck out with the RNG, I will turn off pre-existing injuries and bench him until the November 7 game against Kansas City, which seems like it will be when he will hopefully be available in real life (after a TNF game the week before).
Relatedly, as Rodgers is gone, I reversed the Randall Cobb trade. The GM made it pretty clear that was specifically to appease Rodgers. Instead, as a consolation, I'm keeping Devin Funchess, who was released off of IR recently and has played zero regular season games in 2 years with the Packers.
Regarding free agency, I bumped a lot of the top free agents down so that they aren't going to intrude on realism. Yes, a team could sign Colin Kaepernick, but the Jets aren't going to sign him to start over Zach Wilson.
I'm running this on Madden 22 for PS5. I'll be playing on All-Madden with Matt10's sliders, though I've changed the time to 12-minute quarters and a 20-second accelerated clock.
After this post, I have a couple of more follow-up "news stories" before I start the season, so bear with me for a few. I feel like a bombshell like this would take some time to unfold. Thanks, and hope you enjoy!