GREEN BAY – Aaron Rodgers will check off another lifelong dream when the Packers quarterback serves as a guest host on "Jeopardy" this offseason.
The show is using a series of interim hosts in place of the iconic Alex Trebek, who died in November after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Rodgers broke the news of his involvement during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday.
"I'm really excited about it. We've been talking about it for a little bit," said Rodgers during his media availability on Tuesday afternoon. "I think I may have jumped the gun a little bit so I apologize to 'Jeopardy' if they wanted to announce it, I just got so excited on the show earlier. It just went down the last couple of days, us figuring it out. It is very exciting, it's for the offseason, we'll be even more excited when that opportunity gets a little closer."
Rodgers, a huge fan of the longtime running game show, emerged victorious on his "Celebrity Jeopardy!" appearance in 2015, earning a $50,000 donation to his charity of choice, the MACC Fund (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer). The two-time MVP quarterback bested "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary and retired astronaut Mark Kelly on the episode.
Rodgers compared the experience of meeting Trebek to the nostalgia he felt during his first pre-production meetings with Keith Jackson, Dan Fouts, John Madden and Pat Summerall, all football announcers he grew up watching.
"The show has been so special to me over the years," Rodgers said. "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. I've said it before I think when he passed, but there's this nostalgic connection to certain figures in our life based on our childhood and where we were at and the times we had those memories, it almost makes these people feel like family, like you know them."
