By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Aug 09, 2017 at 7:05 PM

Like just about every other American human currently alive, Aaron Rodgers watches "Game of Thrones." And the Green Bay Packers quarterback is apparently very, very into it.

In an article published Wednesday on The Ringer, Rodgers declared his love of the HBO megahit, offered his own clever plot theories (he is, after all, a famously cerebral player) and decried teammates spoiling the show – which he watches a day later, by himself, so that he can intensely focus on it.

At one point during the interview, Rodgers admitted he's a "huge Jon Snow fan" – who isn't? – which is a lot more complimentary than what poor, foreign, football-oblivious actor Kit Harrington, who plays Snow, had to say about the two-time league MVP.

You're no king of the (NFC) North.

Anyway, Rodgers said GoT is "the first show, to me, that has been as intriguing and as interesting as ‘Lost’," the inscrutable ABC drama TV series from a decade ago. The NFL’s career leader in passer rating, who’s entering his 13th season in Green Bay and 10th as the Packers’ starter, has in the past professed his love of movies like "The Princess Bride" and "Happy Gilmore," among other pop culture interests.

But his absorption in "Game of Thrones" is absolutely next level. Here is an excerpted sampling of what Rodgers – who has been known to wear a Tyrion Lannister-themed shirt around  the locker that says, "That’s what I do; I drink and I know things" – told Kevin Clark:

"I am totally dialed in and locked in with everything that’s going on right now," Aaron Rodgers says.

"I love Arya, because she’s back in the mix now. She’s sparring with Brienne of Tarth, which was a weird moment, I think, for Sansa," Rodgers says. "To see her little sister, who is incredible — and now [Sansa] knows [Arya] has this list that [Sansa] thought [Arya] was joking about — but no, she’s probably been going out and killing people."

"I think that Jon Snow, Daenerys, and the Hand of the Queen [Tyrion Lannister] — I think they are all related. Three dragons, three riders, three siblings," Rodgers says. "We know from Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven, that Ned Stark was not Jon Snow’s father. The Mad King might have been his father, might have been him — and that would make Daenerys and Jon brother and sister. And then Tyrion, we don’t know who his mother is, who Tywin slept with. I think there’s some sort of relationship. At least Jon Snow and Daenerys are going to be working together, and they are mining the dragon glass."

"Oh, I would love to see Cersei get her head whacked off."

"There are just so many storylines and you have to really pay attention to keep up," Rodgers says. "With these shows, I’m dialed in and I really want to tie everything together. I love the [‘previously on’ recaps] to start the episodes. It’s very interesting stuff."

Rodgers says he’s a "huge Jon Snow fan" but that the Khaleesi is his favorite character. He particularly enjoyed watching her set the Lannister army on fire with one of her dragons. "I hope more stuff happens like what happened Sunday," Rodgers says. However, he also appreciates some of the more obscure characters.

"Jorah is back now in mix," he says. "He doesn’t have whatever disease he had — the stone thing — he’s back in the mix. It’s great."

"I don’t think fans want to spoil it for me, but people will have a comment — I can’t believe so-and-so died — that’s a spoiler that you want to avoid," he says.

In addition to preemptively warding off fans, the quarterback has to protect himself from the guys who normally protect him. On Sunday night, tackle Bryan Bulaga approached Rodgers near the dorms for training camp.

"I said, ‘It was amazing!’ and he said, ‘I don’t even want to hear any reactions!’" Bulaga says. "It’s not my fault that you don’t watch it live. That is not my problem."

"I said, ‘Stop, stop, stop, I’m behind,’" Rodgers says. "Monday morning, a couple of guys are going, ‘Well …’ and you’re going, ‘Stop stop stop.’"

Despite all of the potential pitfalls, Rodgers typically watches each episode the night after it airs. Why take that risk? He needs a quiet, peaceful place to enjoy the thing he cares about.

"I don’t like a lot of people talking during it; I’d rather watch alone," Rodgers says. "I just love this show and I want to concentrate."

You can read the rest of the Ringer’s piece here. 

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.