The real reason Troy Aikman retired from football, through his own words

atlantacowboy · Apr 20, 2021

windward said:
Ok Troy. You were cut, then tried to latch on to San Diego before calling it quits.

This is straight up revisionist history.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/2001/0307/1136301.html

. Troy was essentially a cap casualty by his own hand. Jerry would have had to extend his contract to 2007 if they hadn't waived him, and Jerry did not think Aikman was healthy enough to play that long. Troy was 34 at the time and could have easily played longer and agreed to renegotiate his contract. He chose not to go down that road leaving Jerry with no choice but to waive him.

Anyone familiar with the stupid decisions Jerry was making year after year at that time in regard to player personnel can understand Troy's frustration. After 3 Super Bowls, Troy should have had more say in what was happening in the Dallas offense.

TexasBoys2288 · Apr 20, 2021

D_Boyz said:
Andy Reid was trying to get him to play for him...Troy almost became an eagle.

Troy would have been considered a traitor, enemy #1 in Dallas and to all Cowboy fans if he joined the the hated Eagles, wow. I know he would've been on my S list.

Miller · Apr 20, 2021

Well we know he loved Jimmy and Norv

Blackrain · Apr 20, 2021

Troy like many of us was tired of watching a rich guy trying to do a job he was unqualified to do because he had big money and a bigger ego . He didnt want to be a part of turning a once proud franchise into Jerrys family hobby .

Troy knew then that winning a SB with Barry Switzer was the beginning of the end reinforcing Jerrys notion that coaching was unimportant and anyone could coach the team. Many years later Troys reputation and legacy is preserved while Jerry looks more like a football failure every day

Ranching · Apr 20, 2021

I thought Garrett put a hex on him.

Doomsday101 · Apr 20, 2021

it seems the mind still thinks the player can play but the body tells a different story. Troy in his mind may think he could have continued on yet the body was not playing well and the cheers he was hearing in the prime of his career were turning into boos. Aikman started missing more and more time with back issues having to take shots in his back to even have a chance to play on a given Sunday, he was also seeing concussion mounting. I don't doubt what was in Troy's mind but I do have serious doubts his body would have allowed the high level of football he had experienced

dmq · Apr 20, 2021

I guess Aikman forgot about that 1998 Arizona playoff game where his career was officially ruled over in most fan's eyes.

atlantacowboy · Apr 20, 2021

TexasFrog said:
Well we know he loved Jimmy and Norv

If you don't love Jimmy and Norv, you aren't a cowboy fan.

Miller · Apr 20, 2021

atlantacowboy said:
If you don't love Jimmy and Norv, you aren't a cowboy fan.

Agree! Love that pic and the appreciation Troy has for them.

Turk · Apr 20, 2021

Anyone that makes it to the top of any sport, which is exactly where Troy was, will be a tremendously competitive person. Always believing they can play at a high level. We have seen that countless times over the years; a player who cannot get it done anymore thinking he can. By the time Troy was retired he was at that level. His back and the concussions. And the years of punishment. Remember that while the QB was protected better in his years then when Staubach was playing it was NOTHING like the protection they get now. His body was pretty much done.

Now as regards the situation with the Cowboys Troy had a rather unique perspective by the time he retired. He had seen the worst and then the best and then the steady deterioration. I have no doubt he was fed up with the amateur GM he was stuck with. Now you can like someone personally but still think they stink at the job. I think that was where Troy was. He liked Jerry but he disliked Jerry Jones the GM.

So there were a lot of factors involved in that situation. Things are rarely simple.

Silver Surfer · Apr 20, 2021

Turk said:
..... Now you can like someone personally but still think they stink at the job. I think that was where Troy was. He liked Jerry but he disliked Jerry Jones the GM.....

I wonder how long Jerry the businessman would tolerate an employee who performed like Jerry the GM in a key position in any of his other ventures.

JoeKing · Apr 20, 2021

Parcells4Life said:
He got a concussion from his kids little league football game two years after he retired. His head couldn’t handle it anymore. The LaVar Arrington hit shouldn’t have done anything to him but it knocked him out.

Him and Steve Young could barely make it through a game at the end of their careers.

That doesn't mean he wasn't getting his fill from the micromanagement style of the Cowboys FO.

CWR · Apr 20, 2021

dmq said:
I guess Aikman forgot about that 1998 Arizona playoff game where his career was officially ruled over in most fan's eyes.

He was toast, and we sucked. That's why he retired.

Melonfeud · Apr 20, 2021

Ranching said:
I thought Garrett put a hex on him.

*Also ( source requested to remain anonymous) being ever the anal retentive type ,Garrett had employed the services of an Jamaican boob-doo o' voodoo Tittiytwisting witch doctor, just in case those Gypsy's high-dollar Hex didn't pan out*

jterrell · Apr 20, 2021

Troy cried like a baby at his retirement.
It was a health issue.
He'd had multiple concussions and many other ailments including back issues.
He could have forced a trade but didn't.
He retired; then when multiple teams approached him he stayed retired.

He hated that Norv Turner wasn't hired for the job.
He hated the lax environment under Barry and then he thought Gailey was a glorified college coach.
All true, but he also was going to be 35 and coming off a poor season.

Oz-of-Cowboy-Country · Apr 20, 2021

Most fans turned on Aikman at the end anyway. He couldn't stay healthy, he took up a lot of cap and we sucked. Even I thought it was time to rebuild.

GimmeTheBall! · Apr 20, 2021

JoeKing said:
Didn't Jerry do the introduction speech when Troy was inducted into the HoF?

No wait, it was Norv Turner, wow.

Norv who?

lostar2009 · Apr 20, 2021

mattjames2010 said:
Troy has said multiple reasons he has retired - not long ago he said the reason he retired was due to a back injury or something, and I believe that was in relation to Romo's back problems.

It's probably a combination of both. The one he most likely won't admit to is that he just wasn't that good at football anymore, and frankly, he wasn't all that great after the 95 season.

I think Moss would've given him more life. Hard to be good when the team's suck. But I do agree his skill set did was in the decline.

lostar2009 · Apr 20, 2021

Can't blame the guy. He saw the dumpster fire coming also add in the passing off on Moss and Irving injures stuff was not the same any more.

Praxit · Apr 20, 2021

..I had a feeling it was time to go, when on one game he was sacked back to back times. He got up started yelling at the OL, getting in their faces. I think he was gone the following year.

Then Jerry bought his first bottle of Johnny Red Walker and the rest is history.

The real reason Troy Aikman retired from football, through his own words

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