When it was announced that Aaron Rodgers would guest host Jeopardy!, many speculated on his chances to land the job full-time.
With his lifelong love of the game and personality, most felt he would be successful and be a good fit for the role.
But after serving as guest host for two weeks, Rodgers’ short run as Jeopardy! host had a shocking result no one saw coming.
Since legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away and the show aired all of the episodes he pretaped, a rotating cast of celebrity guest hosts have taken a shot at filing his shoes.
Virtually everyone from past champion Ken Jennings to Dr. Oz and Katie Couric have filled in so far, albeit to mixed reactions and results.
However, no guest host may have had as successful of a run so far as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
According to TVNewsCheck, during Rodgers first week as guest host, the ratings for Jeopardy! were up a whopping 14%, leading the show to a first place finish on the syndication charts for the period ending April 11, outpacing Family Feud and Wheel Of Fortune by a solid margin.
On top of that, the show’s jump in ratings during Rodgers’ first week as host gave Jeopardy! it’s best ratings in a month.
The only guest host so far to draw more viewers is past champion, and fan favorite, Ken Jennings, who was allowed to be the first to fill-in for Trebek, obviously giving him a built-in advantage.
However, the ratings for Rodgers’ tenure that have come out so far only account for his first week at the helm, so considering the viral moments his appearances yielded the show, it’s entirely possible that Rodgers’ second week is even stronger and brings him within striking distance of Jennings’ marks.
Rodgers has been very vocal about the fact that he wants the job full-time, so there’s no doubt that his high ratings and ability to make clips of the show go viral will play a major factor in whether or not he ends up being chosen.
What an amazing 2 weeks for me living out a dream, guest hosting @Jeopardy. I am deeply grateful to the staff, crew, and contestants on @jeopardy for making my time so memorable. And on top of the incredible experience, they are donating $236,725 to the @NVCF ❤️❤️ 🙏🏻 #solong ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gw064rvGeD
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) April 16, 2021
And while Jennings did secure higher ratings – at least until Rodgers’ second week’s ratings are released – he does already host the game show The Chase, which could preclude him from being available to take over the full-time role any time soon.
Considering all of those factors, it would appear that Rodgers legitimately has a chance to be the full-time host of Jeopardy! moving forward.
With other guest hosts already lined up to take a stab at the job, we obviously won’t know who will be the full-time host any time soon.
But at this point, it’s hard to envision any other guest hosts will have as successful of a run as Aaron Rodgers had.
Stay tuned to Sports with Balls for any updates to this ongoing story.