Troy Aikman was considered the most accurate passer of his era. By missing the mark on his post-Cowboy market value, he threw himself into a broadcasting booth.

Maybe that would have happened anyway, but Aikman misjudged how free agency would embrace him. It didn't. So roughly 30 days after he facilitated his release from the Cowboys, Aikman announced his retirement on Monday.

	Troy Aikman would have had to settle for a backup quarterback job.

Remember that crazy scramble on March 7 when the NFL called Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and told him that he had until 2:30 p.m. to pay a $7 million roster bonus or reach some agreement to delay the payment. Aikman and his agent, Leigh Steinberg, wanted the money or his freedom, possibly thinking that the Chargers would consider signing him.

The Chargers had hired Norv Turner as their offensive coordinator. The week before, coaches had talked about Aikman's availability. But it was only talk. General manager John Butler had his eyes on Doug Flutie and signed him two days later.

At his press conference, Flutie talked about the quarterback market almost as a preview of coming attractions to Aikman. The Rams wanted Trent Green and would only consider another quarterback once trade talks with the Chiefs were concluded. The Seahawks had just traded for Matt Hasselbeck. They were out. Carolina coach George Siefert jettisoned Steve Beuerlein so he could see if inexperienced Jeff Lewis could take over. The Dolphins weren't an option because in Dallas he had trouble getting along with former head coach Chan Gailey, the Dolphins' offensive coordinator.

Aikman had nowhere to turn but the Chiefs and play on his UCLA ties. Head coach Dick Vermeil and president Carl Peterson always care about former Bruins. Once they talked, though, Aikman quickly realized that the Chiefs were set on trading for Green. He would have to wait until that scenario played out before he would know.

It wasn't going to change. The next options may not have opened until draft day, but none of those would have been attractive. In the tight cap market, Aikman could have signed as a backup for some team looking for an experienced hand. Newly married, he would have had to settle for a sub-$1 million salary to go to a team to sit around.

That's not the way he wanted to end his career.

The concussions certainly scared away teams that might have been interested in him. Friends of Aikman empathized. A great student of the game and subjects that affect him, Aikman learned so much about head traumas over the years that he had a more extensive background on the subject that any team general practitioner he would meet.

Pushing his release speeded up the retirement process. Jones was willing to wait until June to make a decision. By postponing payment of the bonus until June, it would have saved them more than $7 million in cap dollars, laying it off into next season. Now, the Cowboys have a dead pool of $23 million of cap money and are signing replacements for $500,000 incentive-laden contracts.

Fortunately, Aikman will be remembered for his accuracy and his leadership, not his final decision to leave the Cowboys. Jones knew his condition better than other teams and might have taken a chance for one last fling. Now, that fling will be in the announcing booth.

John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.