When Troy Aikman decided to hang up his cleats as the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys following the conclusion of the 2000 season, he was a mere shadow of the player he once was. Battling persistent back injuries, Aikman appeared worn down and aged, hardly resembling the dynamic QB who led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl victories. At the time of his retirement, Aikman was a seasoned 34 years old.
Reflecting on his career and the changes in the game since his playing days, Aikman pointed to the evolution of rules designed to protect quarterbacks as a major shift in the landscape of professional football. In an interview with Kevin Clark on This Is Football, Aikman emphasized the significance of these rule changes in prolonging the careers of today’s signal-callers.
“I would probably say the protection on the quarterback,” Aikman remarked. “I played 12 years. I would’ve played much longer, and I think that the norm going forward is going to be, we’re going to see quarterbacks playing up until they’re 40 years old and beyond. I think if anyone retires before they’re 40 it’s gonna be a little bit surprising.”
Aikman recalled the physical toll that playing quarterback took on him during his tenure in the NFL, contrasting it with the current state of the position. “Quarterbacks just aren’t taking the punishment we took when I played,” Aikman noted. “Any time a quarterback does get hit they’re immediately looking for a flag. I should put together a highlight reel of the worst hits that I took, and you would think these players would probably be banned from the NFL, and there wasn’t even a penalty on the play. It’s changed a lot, for sure.”
As Aikman looks back on his career with the wisdom of hindsight, he sees a stark contrast between the physical demands placed on quarterbacks of his era and those of today. With the implementation of rules aimed at safeguarding the league’s most valuable assets, quarterbacks are now able to showcase their talents for longer stretches of time, paving the way for extended careers and records that were previously thought unattainable. And as quarterbacks continue to thrive in the pass-happy modern NFL, the age at which they retire is steadily creeping higher, a trend that Aikman believes will only continue to gain traction in the years to come.
