Troy Aikman came closer to an NFL comeback than most fans ever realized, and on a recent episode of Your Dark Companion with host Mike Rhyner, the Hall of Fame quarterback broke down exactly how that happened more than once.

The closest call was Miami. Dave Wannstedt, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 1989-92, had hired Norv Turner, Dallas’s offensive coordinator during both of Aikman’s Super Bowl-winning seasons, as his OC. Together they asked Aikman to return for the 2003 season, two years after his April 2001 retirement and roughly a year into his broadcasting career at Fox.

“I’m gonna train as though I’m coming out of retirement and I’m going to play,” Aikman said he told Wannstedt at the time.

However, the deal died with Dolphins executive Rick Spielman, then senior vice president of football operations, who opted not to sign him.

But before Miami, Aikman had also tried San Diego. He flew out to meet Turner, an offensive coordinator with the Chargers in 2001, and owner Dean Spanos, hoping to sign there, only for the team’s new general manager to bring in Doug Flutie, fresh off his release from Buffalo.

Denver also called. Mike Shanahan offered Aikman a roster spot, but strictly as a backup to Brian Griese, who’d just signed a multi-year extension.

Aikman turned it down flat. “If that’s the case, I’m not interested in going anywhere and being a backup,” he told Shanahan, who reportedly respected the answer and even offered to help him find a starting job elsewhere.

The furthest-out call came from Andy Reid, after Donovan McNabb broke his ankle during the Eagles’ 2002 season. By then Aikman hadn’t thrown a football in roughly two years, and he passed with little hesitation.

“That wasn’t much of a decision for me. I slept on it, gave it a little bit of thought, but there wasn’t much consideration for me on coming out of retirement and playing for the Eagles,” Aikman said.

Aikman further explained that his exit from Dallas wasn’t really about age or ability.

“I knew at the end of my time in Dallas, I knew I was done playing for the Cowboys. I had become too frustrated with how things were being done and the direction of the organization,” he said.

He retired in April 2001 as the franchise’s all-time leading passer, finishing his 12-year career with 32,942 passing yards, 165 touchdowns, and three Super Bowl titles.

Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, moved from Fox to ESPN in 2022, and remains the network’s lead “Monday Night Football” analyst alongside Joe Buck.