Somewhat healthy competition never hurt anybody.
Brad Rutter, the highest-earning all-time “Jeopardy!” contestant, pulled back the curtain on his relationship with fellow champions Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.
“It’s each a brotherhood and it’s very competitive,” Rutter, 45, told The Post on Monday.
“If the three of us are within the green room on the ‘GOAT [‘Greatest of All Time’] Tournament,’ we’re being cordial to one another. We’re chatting, but we’re really focused and really intense, and it’s not much pleasantries.
“Any type of conversation we’re having is just really to make ourselves less nervous,” he admitted.
Jennings, 49, won the GOAT tournament in January 2020,
Nonetheless, including tournaments, Rutter still holds the title for the all-time “Jeopardy!” winnings with a grand total of $4,938,436 from the show.
Jennings ranks second in that category with $4,370,700 all-time winnings, as Holzhauer, 38, rounds out the Top 3 with $3,462,216.
All three men also put their trivia superpowers to the test on ABC’s trivia game show “The Chase” — where Rutter claims the behind-the-scenes vibes are less tense.
“Backstage on ‘The Chase,’ we’re just joking around and having fun and making fun of one another.”
“On ‘The Chase,’ I receives a commission either way,” he reasoned.
“I’m still answering trivia questions but I just need to get into a superb way of thinking and banter with host Sarah [Haines] and the contestants, versus ‘Jeopardy!’ which is so intense on every clue.”
The Post has contacted representatives for Jennings and Holzhauer for comment.
Rutter and Jennings famously competed against IBM’s computer system Watson back in February 2011.
Watson blew each human champions out of the water, ultimately bringing home the $1 million prize.
When asked if Rutter would ever return to battle against today’s AI systems, akin to ChatGPT, he quickly told The Post: “No way. They’re not getting me on that again.”
He explained that technology has drastically modified over the past 12 years.
“I imagine the present version of Watson is 10 times higher than what they were putting out against me and Ken, and it beat the crap out of me and Ken 10 years ago. So, no ChatGPT.
“ChatGPT could play Watson and I’ll host it,” he suggested. “I might definitely be up for that.”
Rutter has not been invited back to “Jeopardy!” since his first-ever human loss to Jennings within the GOAT tournament.
But earlier this month, the show’s producer, Sarah Whitcomb Foss, hinted that Ruter could return for the show’s 2024 Masters.
“I do know our listeners know we got this little thing called the JIT, the ‘Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament,’” Foss said on the “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast, referring to the brand new tournament that decides which “Jeopardy!’ alums earn a spot within the Masters tournament.
“A lot of you wondered, ‘Where’s Brad Rutter? How is he not a part of ‘Masters?’” Foss continued. “And yes, Brad Rutter has made extra money on ‘Jeopardy!’ than some other contestant in history; those stats are so impressive.
“So what we now wanna see is, how is Brad immediately? Can he come to the JIT, competing against another greats, and prove that he deserves a spot as one among the present greats in ‘Masters’ next 12 months?”
Nonetheless, Rutter told The Post that while nobody from the show has approached him about coming back, he would never say “no” to a different round.
“‘Jeopardy!’ is about essentially the most fun you possibly can have, perhaps second to playing ‘The Chase,’” he declared.
“The Chase” returns Friday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC and streams on Hulu.
